8-year-old girl dies of AES at SKMCH

PATNA: An eight-year-old girl with acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) died at the Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur Sunday night, taking the death toll due to AES to eight in the state this year.

SKMCH superintendent Dr Sunil Shahi said Suruchi Kumari was brought to the hospital on Saturday with hypoglycaemia. He said two more children with AES were undergoing treatment at the hospital and both were out of danger.

Muzaffarpur DM Chandrashekhar Singh said so far 63 AES cases have been reported and eight children died this year. When asked about AES cases being reported in August, though its peak time is June, he replied, “We do get scattered cases of AES till October.” He further said 653 cases were reported previous year.

PICU at SKMCH for Covid treatment: The newly built 100-bed paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at SKMCH will be used for treating Covid-19 patients. Besides this, another 70-bed makeshift hospital equipped with oxygen pipeline is being prepared on the same campus for symptomatic Covid-19 patients.

The PICU at SKMCH was inaugurated by chief minister Nitish Kumar in June. However, keeping in mind the demand for health facilities for Covid-19 patients, the government has decided to use it for coronavirus patients needing medical care.

Muzaffarpur DM Chandrashekhar Singh said all the PICU beds have ventilator facility. He, however, said there would be no compromise with the treatment of children. “There are 25 children in the PICU at present. We already have one 60-bed newly built encephalitis ward where these children will be shifted,” said Singh.

He said both the PICU ward and 70-bed makeshift hospital will be made functional within a couple of days. “Oxygen pipelines in the makeshift hospital are being set up and the facility will be opened in the next two days. We are also arranging another 30-bed health facility for patients with Covid symptoms but their test results are awaited. Once their results come, they will be shifted to the health facility as per their requirement,” added Singh.