By Mayukh Goswami (PNI)

Mangaldai   : Japanese Encephalitis(JE) and diseases with Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) has recently turned serious in some part of Darrang district particularly in greater Sipajhar area over the last one week as the Health Department sources confirming deaths of two elderly persons following the deadly diseases . Bhokobala Deka (80) , a resident of village Borachuba , Sipajhar has died in her residence on July 8 last after blood report of July 6 last confirmed JE positive . According to an official report she was admitted to GMCH on July 5 , however left hospital on July 7 against medical advice and subsequently died on the next day at her residence . On the other hand another elderly person Ramesh Ch Sarma , a resident of Bhuktabari village , Sipajhar found JE positive on July 9 last while being admitted to GMCH , however on July 10 he reportedly died in the hospital .

 

Besides these two casualties , official source has confirmed two other patients with JE positive namely Alhadif Abdullah , a three year old kid from Hirapara , Mangaldai and Bitopan Rajbongshi (15) of Kholihoi-Kuwarigaon, Sipajhar . Significantly both of them have availed govt supplied JE vaccination in the year 2015 . Fortunately , the conditions of both the children are stated to be stable . Kiran Kalita (45) of village Chamatiapara is also stated to have suffered from JE  virus as the patient from a very poor family  has been undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Guwahati following crisis of bed in the ICU of GMCH since last few days .

 

However the District Health Department has yet to declare it as a JE positive case as they are yet to receive necessary medical report from the competent authority . ‘I have visited the residence of Kiran Kalita but the hospital authority were yet to provide the family members with requisite medical reports” , said Shyam Barua , District Malaria Officer (DMO) while talking to this correspondent .

 

In addition to these JE positive cases there are two detected cases of AES in the district in recent time as state by  DMO Barua . However he didn’t rule out possibility of  few other unreported cases of JE positive in the district . Meanwhile the Health Department has claimed to have carried out camps for Blood Sample Collection (BSC) , fogging and awareness meeting in the affected areas as a means of prevention of these diseases even though vaccination is considered to be the best means of prevention .