Gaya, Bihar:
Over the past month, 30 children have died of encephalitis in the Gaya district of Bihar. The deadly disease, which is mosquito borne, mostly affects young children living in rural areas, right after the rains.
This is not the first time the disease has hit Gaya , but the question is, will it be the last?
"Sometimes his condition improves, sometimes it worsens, the doctors are not saying anything," says Bhanwari Devi, whose four-year-old son Jitu is in hospital, battling for life.
For the past month, three doctors has managed the show here, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients in the ward.
"This is not a normal situation, I have requested the authorities to provide extra doctors and nurses many times," said Dr Ajay Kishore Ravi , Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Magadh Medical College.
Forty kilometres away from the main town, Dukhni Devi is still to get over her eight-year-old granddaughter's death.
In the village, there is anger; there is no awareness, no fogging, and certainly no help from the administration. Now, the government says a massive immunisation programme will be launched in the district next month.
"I agree that if we launched the immunisation a month ago we could have saved a few lives, but these are all conjectures," said Krishan Kumar Singh, civil surgeon, Gaya.
On the ground, it is evident that not only is the situation alarming, but the indifferent attitude of the government means that this vicious cycle of death and disease will probably repeat itself year after year in Gaya.
This is not the first time the disease has hit Gaya , but the question is, will it be the last?
"Sometimes his condition improves, sometimes it worsens, the doctors are not saying anything," says Bhanwari Devi, whose four-year-old son Jitu is in hospital, battling for life.
For the past month, three doctors has managed the show here, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients in the ward.
"This is not a normal situation, I have requested the authorities to provide extra doctors and nurses many times," said Dr Ajay Kishore Ravi , Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Magadh Medical College.
Forty kilometres away from the main town, Dukhni Devi is still to get over her eight-year-old granddaughter's death.
In the village, there is anger; there is no awareness, no fogging, and certainly no help from the administration. Now, the government says a massive immunisation programme will be launched in the district next month.
"I agree that if we launched the immunisation a month ago we could have saved a few lives, but these are all conjectures," said Krishan Kumar Singh, civil surgeon, Gaya.
On the ground, it is evident that not only is the situation alarming, but the indifferent attitude of the government means that this vicious cycle of death and disease will probably repeat itself year after year in Gaya.
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