44 deaths on July 28 in AMC due to Japanese encephalitis 

Guwahati, Aug 25 : At least 44 people have died of Japanese Encephalitis on a single day in the Assam Medical College(AMC) as the disease has wreaked havoc in the State recently. 

Confirming this, AMC officials said on July 28, 44 people died and 68 patients got admitted on the same day in the AMC of Dibrugarh with advanced stage of Japanese encephalitis. 

The month-old information was revealed yesterday following an RTI by local NGOs as the H1N1 virus threat had overshadowed the encephalitis pandemic in the whole of upper Assam. 

''This is a very deadly disease and we have sent special teams to Dibrugarh, Sivsagar as well as Tiunsukia districts,'' said the state Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.  

Continuous rain and damp environment have also led to the proliferation of mosquitoes. 

''H1N1 is a much lesser evil for a state which has not seen any death related to the disease so far. The H1N1 virus may be creating panic all across the country, but in Assam, Japanese Encephalitis has emerged as a more deadly disease,'' said Mr Atindra Adhikari, head of Medicine of the Guwahati Medical College. 

The epicentre of this crisis is upper Assam as most of the affected people are from Dibrugarh, Sivsagar and Tinsukia district.  

From Dibrugarh alone, 101 patients were admitted to AMC since July 1 of which 33 died and 63 are still undergoing treatment. 

According to the data made available by the AMC, next most affected district is Sivsagar with 54 affected and 20 dead.  

In fact, of late, Sivsagar is the worst affected and one senior police official also died of the disease which is spread through mosquito bites. 

So far, 224 patients have been admitted into the AMC alone in comparison to eight H1N1 cases so far in Assam. The number of patients would be much higher if the private medical institutions are also counted. 

''We have tried for vaccination of the younger people in Sivsagar district and some amount of satisfaction has also been achieved,'' said Dr Sarma. 

But the Opposition political parties like Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) alleged that health department has failed in tackling Japanese encephalitis.