Union Health Minister visits AES-hit Muzaffarpur

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan met patients and their families at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur. So far, 101 people have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur.

Muzaffarpur: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday visited Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, where 101 children have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in the past fortnight.

Fourteen children died on Sunday, taking the total number of casualties due to AES to 101, health officials said.

However, unofficial deaths due the disease are said to be more as some children died in villages before being admitted to hospital.

Harsh Vardhan, accompanied by Union Minister of State for Health Ashwani Kumar Choubey and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey, visited the state-owned Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH).

"The Ministers are holding a closed-door review meeting with the doctors and health officials to take stock of the situation," a district health official said.

Meanwhile SKMCH and private Kejriwal Hospital in the city continue to recieve fresh cases with symptoms akin to AES. The two hospitals are reverberating with the cries and wailing of helpless parents as children continue to die of AES.