From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Japanese Encephalitis (JE) has claimed lives of three more persons in Assam, taking the death toll to 110 in the state, the daily report of the National Health Mission (NHM) said on Monday evening.
The deaths were reported from Goalpara, Dhubri and Barpeta and the deceased were undergoing treatment in hospitals.
The number of JE-positive cases has risen to 477 till date, the report said.
JE is a vector-borne disease that affects the brain.
As it is, Assam is also coping with the current wave of floods with a population of 30,55,837 in 2,283 villages of 18 districts still affected.
Even as the flood situation remains grim in the state, the health department has taken special measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
It may be mentioned that a slew of emergency measures have been put in place since the first week of this month to tackle the situation, starting from making ICU (intensive care unit) charges, including hospital dues, drugs and diagnostics absolutely free for JE/AES patients at the point of care in all government hospitals operating ICU facilities.
Last year, there were 509 JE cases and 94 deaths in Assam.