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205 die of encephalitis in northern India

New Delhi (dpa) - The death toll from encephalitis in India has risen to 205, as post-monsoon diseases were reported in several hospitals in the country, health authorities said Friday.
The health authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh confirmed that 205 people had died since the disease broke out in the area a month ago.

The incidence of encephalitis was noticeably higher in the eastern part of the state, including Gorakhpur town, 270 kilometres east of state capital Lucknow, from where a majority of cases have been reported. In the state-run hospital in Gorakhpur, 10 deaths have been reported since Friday.

The form of encephalitis which has struck the Indian state has been identified as Japanese encephalitis. Pigs are the main carriers of the encephalitis virus, which is spread to humans by mosquitoes.

According to the World Health Organisation, encephalitis flavivirus causes inflammation of membranes around the brain. The disease, which mostly affects children, leaves them mentally retarded for life.

Post-monsoon diseases like dengue fever have also struck the Indian capital Delhi and eastern Calcutta city. Dengue has claimed 10 lives in Calcutta in the past week.

The dengue virus is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the same mosquito that causes yellow fever.

In the western part of the country, at least 250 people have died in Bombay due to leptospirosis and other water-borne diseases. The city was lashed by heavy monsoon showers at the end of July.

In all, over 2,000 people have lost their lives in landslides, drownings and disease caused by heavy rains across India since July. The monsoon season in India usually lasts from July to September.

dpa sk jh

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