Two new AES cases take tally to 23

PATNA: Four new acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) cases have been reported in the state in the past one week, taking the total number of such cases to 23 this year so far. Of them, over 50% have been added in a month. However, there has been no death of AES patient so far.
Muzaffarpur district administration officially reported two new cases on Thursday evening — a three-year-old female child from Kudhni block and a 7-year-old male child from Sakra block in Muzaffarpur.The girl child was brought to the hospital on May 17 with hypoglycaemia and was discharged the next day. The boy also suffered from hypoglycaemia. He is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In the past one month, AES cases have more than doubled. There were 12 AES cases reported officially till April 17 and this increased to 26 as per the data shared on May 18. Month-wise figures show maximum nine cases in May against eight cases in March, two in January and one in February. However, there has been no death so far, while five years back in 2019, the state had registered 111 deaths due to AES, followed by seven deaths each in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, one official death was reported.
While talking to TOI, Muzaffarpur development commissioner Ashutosh Dwivedi, who is also in-charge of the district magistrate, had cited public awareness and distribution of jaggery amongst the vulnerable children for consumption as the reasons for better tackling of AES. An officer said though the cases are being reported, the number is less and children are getting recovered and sent back home.