Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that the Central government will launch an immunisation drive in the States affected by Encephalitis outbreak. Talking to reporters in Patna yesterday Dr. Vardhan said his priority is to ensure 100 percent immunisation of children in the States affected by Acute Encephalitis Syndrom, AES.

He said Atlanta based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will be requested to test samples from children affected by the AES. The disease has claimed 130 lives and another 700 admitted to hospitals, in Bihar alone. A number of districts in Eastern Uttar Pradesh are also in the grip of the AES. A two-day special immunisation drive begins today in the AES affected districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. A majority of children who died of AES were from Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Vaishali and Bhagalpur districts of Bihar.

Cases have also been reported in Samastipur, Begusarai and Khagaria districts. The symptoms of the disease vary from high fever, body-ache, stiffness of limbs to Meningitis and coma. The Health Minister visited Muzaffarpur yesterday to take stock of the situation. Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has requested him to launch the initiative to check the disease.