New Delhi
(AsiaNews / Agencies ) - At least 358 people have died in Uttar Pradesh since
the beginning of the year, in an outbreak of viral encephalitis of unknown
origin. Most
of the victims are children, in the last few days 15 children have died from
contagion. At
the moment the government hospitals of Gorakhpur - the city most affected -
have treated over 200 patients suffering from encephalitis, but the rains which
continue to affect the Indian state could increase deaths . In
fact, the disease occurs mainly during the monsoon season.
Gorakhpur
doctors say that the patients come from 12 districts in the state and belong
mostly to very poor rural communities . Until
2005, most of the victims died from Japanese encephalitis virus which is
transmitted by mosquitoes. In
the past seven years, however, many children have died from a new form of viral
encephalitis . The
most common symptoms are headaches and vomiting, the disease can lead to coma,
cause brain dysfunction, epilepsy and inflammation of the heart and liver.
Since
1978, when Uttar Pradesh recorded the first case, at least 6,500 children have
died . In
2005, a violent outbreak of Japanese encephalitis killed 1000 people. The
group most at-risk is children between six months and 15 years. A
fifth of children who survive suffer a lifetime of neurological problems.
Last
week, the Central Government of India launched a vaccination campaign against
Japanese encephalitis, as part of a national program to combat the virus .