Identity cards would be issued to more than 250 children affected with acute encephalitis syndrome in the district to keep tabs on their clinical condition after being released from hospital.

The cards would have details about their respective habitat and diseases their family members have suffered from.

The joint director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, Himanshu Chauhan, who visited the district at the instance of the Union health ministry, ordered disbursement of the card on June 24. He had also issued a slew of instructions to the chief medical officer (CMO)-cum-civil surgeon, Gyan Bhushan, on maintaining vigil on the health of 253 children discharged from Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) and Kejriwal Maternity Clinic in Muzaffarpur.

Chauhan directed that a team of the health department, under the CMO’s supervision, must pay regular visits to the houses of children with acute encephalitis syndrome and record the health details on the encephalitis identity cards for further investigation.