Principal health secretary Vyasji (left) interacts with doctors of Kejriwal Maternity Clinic in Muzaffarpur on Sunday. Picture by Gopi Raman

Principal secretary, health, Vyasji, on Sunday visited health hubs in Muzaffarpur to take stock of the encephalitis outbreak which has claimed the lives of 28 children this year since the first case was reported on April 22.

The two health hubs Vyasji visited are Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) and Kejriwal Maternity Clinic. Of the 28 deaths, 16 were reported from the first and 12 from the other. Sources said the patients were from Muzaffarpur as well as other districts like Sitamarhi, and East and West Champaran.

Dr G.K. Thakur, superintendent, SKMCH, told The Telegraph over phone: “Fifty patients with acute encephalitis syndrome have been admitted to the hospital since April 22. Of them, 16 have died and eight are under treatment. The rest have been cured and released.”

He added that the situation this year was better than last year. “We have to be on our toes to prevent any more deaths.”

The hospital has set up a 30-bed intensive care unit in the paediatrics department to admit children suffering from encephalitis. “We also have sufficient stock of medicines. All the pathological test required to detect the disease can be conducted at the hospital. I don’t think we shall face any problem if more cases of encephalitis are reported,” said Thakur.

Sources at Kejriwal Maternity Clinic said six children were still at the health hub. Three of them were in a critical condition.

“Twelve of the 46 children, suffering from acute encephalitis syndrome admitted to the clinic till now, have succumbed to the disease,” said an official of the clinic.

Principal secretary, health, Vyasji said: “During the visit, I found that the SKMCH administration was following the standard operating procedure which the health department had prescribed after consultation with experts. However, on our visit to Kejriwal Maternity Clinic, we found that the hospital did not have facilities to conduct the required tests. We have now made arrangement for this.”

Kejriwal Maternity Clinic would now have an ambulance at its disposal to ferry patients to the SKMCH to get important tests done.