In an outbreak of an epidemic in the state of Bihar in India, around 125 children have lost their lives and many more are hospitalized there. There is a big question whether eating litchis are the reason behind it. The Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) has been identified as the cause of the epidemic outbreak in Bihar today.
The popular terms like ‘Litchi Havoc’, Chamki Bhukar’, ‘Killer Encephalitis’, ‘Deadly Litchi Toxin’ being used to report the epidemic in Bihar point to the dismal methods of investigating the disease in India. However, there is an urgent need for a correct answer to the question of what is actually claiming their lives. Union Health Minister visited the local hospitals to take the stock of situation and is satisfied that there no fault in lack of facilities.
The News 18 reported that despite intensive study by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta (USA), there are two competing theories of the epidemic: one, caused by heat stroke, and two, caused by a toxin in locally-grown fruit, litchi.
Dr TJ John, one of an expert team that identified the epidemic, said that malnourished children who ate litchis and went to sleep without a meal fell ill in the pre-Monsoon season between 4 am to 7 am. He establishes a relation between hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, found in children with poor nutrition who sleep hungry, and methylene cyclopropyl-glycine (MCPG), a toxic chemical found in litchis that affects the brain due to undernourishment.
However, Dr Gopal Shankar, the acting HOD of the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) while discrediting previously theories, he explains that deaths occurred due to “acclimatisation failure in children” and instead were caused by “environmental factors” such as the heat wave and poor rainfall in the area. He added that the cases dropped when there was rainfall in the region but then increased when rainfall stopped. He has even argued according to the report, “Sick children also do not have symptoms of abdominal pain to prove the litchi theory,”.
The situation is worsening in the state. When the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited the hospital recently was met by angry protests from the parents of the deceased children. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday sent notices to the health ministry and Bihar government with regard to the problem. The apex rights body seeks “not only vaccination, but all precautionary measures such as cleanliness and hygiene”.
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