Gaya, Nov. 17: Two more children have died of suspected encephalitis at Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMMCH), taking the toll at the health hub to 85.

The two new casualties were reported yesterday, barely 48 hours ahead of state health department principal secretary Amarjeet Sinha’s proposed visit to the hospital tomorrow. A health team from Delhi is also supposed to take stock of the situation in the hospital the same day.

The minors who died yesterday were identified as Rizwan, 5, and Soni Kumar, 8. Sources in the hospital said while Rizwan was a resident of Raushanganj in Gaya, Soni had come to ANmMCH from Hunterganj in Chatra district of Jharkhand.

This is not the first time that Sinha would visit ANMMCH. Earlier, he had accom-panied health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey to the hospital following the outbreak of the vector-borne disease.

A central health team and a group of doctors from Patna-based Rajendra Memorial Research Institute (RMRI) had also visited ANMCH twice. However, their visits failed to bring in any palpable change in the functioning of the hospital.

The sources said ANMMCH did not have adequate doctors to tackle emergency situations, while the intensive care units (ICUs) and the ventilators were not functional. The sources added that the paediatrics department has only three doctors as against the sanction of 11.

Following a direction from Sinha, a team of four doctors was deputed at ANMMCH. The team includes a fresh graduate, an intern and a senior resident doctor. According to the sources, the team visits ANMMCH thrice a week.

Four ventilators have been purchased and were supposed to be used in the anaesthesia department of the hospital. But the ventilators are not functional.

Dr D.K. Mishra, head of the department, anaesthesia, has in a letter urged hospital superintendent Sitaram Prasad to train the employees of his department on how to operate the ventilators. The superintendent said the hospital needed medical officers to make all five ICUs operational.

“I have written to the health department to provide us with adequate medical officers so that the ICUs can function,” Prasad told The Telegraph.

The ANMMCH superintendent said the percentage of deaths because of suspected encephalitis in the hospital was 21 as against the national average of 40 to 50 per cent

“Since yesterday, ANMMCH has received no encephalitis patient. Till now, 386 patients have been admitted to the hospital. Of them, 23 are still recuperating,” he added.

Besides the health department, the government has asked the education and welfare departments and civic bodies to work in a united way to curb further spread of the disease.

State deputy chief malaria officer S.K. Aman had sent a letter to the heads of various offices, asking them to ensure a co-ordinated effort to check encephalitis. However, residents of the district complain that they have not seen any such co-ordinated efforts.

The education and welfare departments were also asked to spread awareness against the disease.