Pintu Sen, who is suffering from Encephalitis, at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.
Three more people have died due to suspected Encephalitis and Japanese Encephalitis at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri, taking the death toll to 70 in the last two weeks.
Over 100 people have died due to the disease since January this year in seven districts of North Bengal.
A 'fever clinic', like the one at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, is supposed to be functional in each of the seven affected districts; it is supposed to be the first point of approach for patients.
But the only other functional clinic across the seven north Bengal districts is at the Jalpaiguri District Hospital.
Pintu Sen, 35, had to travel from Cooch Behar, nearly 180 kilometres away, to the Siliguri hospital.
When Mr Sen had arrived here last Wednesday, he was barely conscious; he is better now, say doctors, but he still can't speak.
The immunisation programmes launched by the state government have covered six of the affected districts, but Cooch Behar has seen almost no immunisation.
Though the state government has pledged to intensify the immunisation programme in Cooch Behar, it may already be too late.
Another glaring problem in the government's immunisation drive is that while the vaccinations are given to children, many of those affected by the disease are adults.
A N Sarkar, Medical Superintendent at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, said, "Adults have not been immunised because we are still not sure of the effect of the vaccine on adults".
Dr P Sinha, who has worked almost round-the-clock over the last month or so to attend to the deluge of suspected encephalitis cases, admits that the government needs to do much more to combat the spread of the disease.
"The government needs to spread much more awareness about what encephalitis is" he says.