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An outbreak of encephalitis has killed 60 people in two weeks in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, a top health official has said, calling the situation “alarming”.Hundreds of mainly children die across India each year from the mosquito-borne virus, but West Bengal is not normally one of the worst-hit states.
Only five people died last year in West Bengal from Japanese encephalitis, one form of the virus which normally hits during the monsoon season when mosquitos breed.
West Bengal health services director Biswaranjan Satpathy said late on Monday there had been a sudden rise in cases and deaths between July 7 and 20.
Satpathy chaired a meeting of state medical officers on Monday to assess the situation that he said had reached “alarming proportions”.
He said there was no specific reason for the jump, and instead cited “seasonal variance”. — AFP
derick.khumalo