Poverty, malnourishment are key reasons behind deaths of children in Muzaffarpur: Survey

In Bihar, preliminary survey in Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) affected areas of the state reveals that poverty and malnourishment are key reasons behind the deaths of children in Muzaffarpur and adjoining areas. 

The Superintendent of Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH) Sunil Kumar Sahi said, the majority of the children admitted at the hospital belonged to the lower strata on socio-economic front. The Superintendent said, 225 children have so far been discharged after treatment.

The total survey of more than five hundred affected families is yet to be



done. So far, 293 families have been covered. Teams are going to villages and approaching the families with questionnaire on their income, housing, food purchase etc.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the health department to speed up the socio-economic survey of the affected families. The death toll due to AES has touched 177 with six more deaths reported in the last 24 hours. Four deaths have been reported from Muzaffarpur while one each from Siwan and Vaishali. 45 children are undergoing treatment in SKMCH and Kejriwal hospital.