At least 211 people, mostly children, have died in an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in an impoverished region of northern Indian and the death toll is likely to soar, officials said today.
Eastern parts of India's most populous state are ravaged by encephalitis each year as malnourished children succumb to the virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes from pigs to humans, but this is one of the worst outbreaks, officials said.
"Most of the deaths have occurred in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh state since the monsoon struck the region in July," regional health officer UK Srivastava told AFP.
The deaths of five more children on Friday pushed the toll to 211, with hundreds sick, some two to a bed, in hospitals in Gorakhpur, a deeply neglected area of 14 million people, he said.
"A total of 1,299 patients had been admitted in hospitals until Friday in Gorakhpur," which is the epicentre of the outbreak, and "more encephalitis patients are coming into our hospitals," Mr Srivastava told AFP.
"We fear the total number of encephalitis cases will go up to at least 3,500 and the death rate will be at a ratio of around 20 per cent," Mr Srivastava said.
Japanese encephalitis causes brain inflammation and can result in brain damage. Symptoms include headaches, seizures and fever.
Health experts say 70 million children in India are at risk of encephalitis.
Unusually heavy monsoon rains coupled with overflowing rivers coursing through Gorakhpur are making it tougher for health workers battling encephalitis.
"We have begun spraying insecticides to wipe out populations of the culex mosquitos which transmits the disease and we are handing out chlorine to villagers to disinfect their drinking water supplies," Mr Srivastava said.
VS Nigam, in charge of Uttar Pradesh's encephalitis prevention programme, said a mammoth project to contain the disease ended with 35 million children vaccinated in the state's 34 districts.
But as soon children are vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis, they fall sick with acute encephalitis syndrome "because when one virus is suppressed by vaccines, others become dominant," he said.
"It's a large challenge," Mr Nigam said, adding state health experts would meet national virologists next week in New Delhi for talks on way to prevent future outbreaks.
The regional chapter of the Voluntary Health Association, India's largest non-governmental organisation, which works alongside the UN Children's Fund, blamed the annual tragedy on the state's random immunisation programmes.
The association's executive director, JP Sharma, said: "A high alert is sounded only after an encephalitis epidemic flares.
"Preventive steps should be taken well ahead of the monsoon as vaccines need an incubation period to make human beings immune to the virus," Mr Sharma told AFP.
* AFP
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SPECS
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Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
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