Bihar AES Death Toll Rises to 37

The official toll in Muzaffarpur in Bihar has risen to 37 due to suspected Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) with two more deaths reported on Wednesday. But top officials in the Nitish Kumar government said that the deaths were caused due to hypoglecemia-low blood sugar level.

It has beenreported that two more children died due to AES at the Sri Krishna MedicalCollege Hospital (SKMCH) taking the death toll up to 37, according to Bihar'sPrincipal Secretary, health, Sanjay Kumar.

Kumar,however, accepted that he did not have figures of the Kejriwal Maternity Clinic(KMC) where many children with symptoms of AES are undergoing treatment. TillMonday, 28 children had died of AES at the SKMCH and seven at KMC but it hasbeen reported two more children have died on Wednesday raising the toll to 37.

It hasfurther been reported that 143 cases of AES reported so far from 11 districtsof Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, East Champaran, Patna, Nalanda, Muzffarpur,Jehanabad, Gaya, Bohjpur and Aurangabad.