BHUBANESWAR: In the midst of nationwide concern over the death of over 100 children in a massive acute enchephalitis syndrome (AES) outbreak in Bihar, State Health Minister Nabakishore Das on Tuesday directed testing of samples of litchi imported from other states for sale here.
Das directed the Food Safety Commissioner to collect samples of litchi being sold in the markets in the State for tests to ascertain the toxic content and its negative impact on human health.
The direction has caused amusement among the medical fraternity but on a graver side, it can fuel panic among the people who will consider the luscious fruit poisonous.
Health experts stated that litchi has always contained a toxin called methylene cyclopropyl glycine (MCPG) which has the potential to cause hypoglycaemia.
If a healthy child eats litchi and has other food, he or she will not suffer from AES.
In cases from Bihar, it has been shown that litchi was a triggering factor for malnourished children who went to sleep without having a meal after consuming the fruit in good quantity.
“The toxin is there in litchi and people here have been consuming it since ages. Consumption of the fruit will not cause AES. Some children in Bihar suffered from hypoglycaemia because they had not taken food after having litchi on empty stomach. The Minister’s direction would only create panic here,” they warned.
Meanwhile, Odisha has made a remarkable turnaround in containing encephalitis across the vulnerable areas.
Despite registering the highest 611 cases in the first four months of the year, only one death has been reported.
One person from Keonjhar district succumbed to AES during the period from January to April. Considering the fact that 115 deaths had occured due to AES in the State in 2016, the drastic reduction to the level of nil has been brought around by active surveillance and successful management of patients.
In 2017, the number of cases though increased to 1228, deaths came down to 15 in AES and zero death in JE of 79 cases.
In 2018, as many as 1720 AES cases were reported with only 10 deaths and no fatality in JE despite 143 positive cases.
Strengthening prevention mechanisms after the 2016 outbreak, the State had set up 10 sentinel laboratories for immediate diagnosis of blood samples.
More than 250 medical officers were trained on how to treat encephalitis cases while Gaon Kalyan Samitis, Asha workers and vector-borne disease consultants trained to identify cases and facilitate prompt treatment.
Health Secretary Dr Pramod Meherda said it is important to identify early signs and treat patients to reduce morbidity and mortality.
Children in the age group of five to 15 are vulnerable to AES. Fever and vomiting are two major symptoms of encephalitis.
Since there are many AES causing viruses for which neither vaccine nor medicine is available, it is difficult to survive if such cases are not treated early, he said.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Public Health has issued an advisory to all district headquarters hospitals to scale up surveillance activities for proper management of AES and JE cases.