The health department has asked the administration to take assistance from the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme team members to combat cases of acute encephalitis syndrome, said district magistrate Anupam Kumar on Thursday.

Kumar also outlined the programme for checking the outbreak and treatment of the disease reported in summer (April to June) for the past few years in the district.

A central team comprising experts from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, National Vector Borne Disease Control Board, Pune, and Rajendra Research Institute, Patna, is visiting the district. Led by Dr Himanshu Chauhan, assistant director, NCDC, the team would camp in Muzaffarpur till June. They would utilise the resources of the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme.

The polio prevention programme, which carries out immunisation drives all over the district throughout the year, has the infrastructure and the records to reach children in urban areas as well as far-flung places. The central team would utilise these resources in their fight against acute encephalitis syndrome.

Kumar, the district magistrate, said: “We have constituted a core group and six subcommittees of administrative and health officials consisting of Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital superintendent Dr G.K. Thakur and chief medical officer-cum-civil surgeon Dr Gyan Bhushan to oversee the entire process of prevention and treatment.”

Besides medical action, civic initiatives are also being taken to check the spread of the disease that has claimed hundreds of lives over the past few years.

“The health department has identified 160 villages in the Mushahri, Minapur, Kanti and Kudhani blocks that are susceptible to the outbreak of acute encephalitis syndrome. I have ordered immediate fogging of anti-insecticides and spraying of DDT in these villages,” said Kumar.

The fogging would start on April 14.

He added: “We have involved all government departments, social outfits, non-government organisations and representatives of panchayats to mitigate the threat of the disease.”

Residents of rural areas are being educated about the ways to prevent the disease through street plays and corner meetings, asking them to take their children to hospitals if they fall sick.

“If children are taken to hospitals as soon as they fall sick, they can be cured. But villagers usually rely on traditional treatment aggravating the condition of those suffering from encephalitis,” said the district magistrate.

The central team, as well as medical teams, in the district would also conduct pathological research to ensure that the disease is identified early and those suffering from it are treated properly.