Four More Die of Encephalitis in Bengal, Toll up to 116

Kolkata: Four more people today died of encephalitis in West Bengal, taking the death toll to 116 in the state this year, even as the Health department has claimed that the spread of the vector-borne disease has been checked.

"There were four deaths in north Bengal but they were patients who were struggling for life since the last few days. The number of new cases of encephalitis has come down drastically now. The situation is totally under our control," West Bengal Health Services director Biswaranjan Satpathy told PTI.

The health official claimed that as a result of various precautionary measures taken by the department, transmission of the disease had been cut off effectively.

Presently, there are at least 51 patients admitted in different government hospitals of the seven affected districts of north Bengal.

North Bengal Medical College has 35 patients, Mr Satpathy said.