Over 200 cases and 40 deaths have taken place in eastern UP in the past one month due to encephalitis, the disease which has a mortality rate between 30 to 40 per cent. In the same period, only 20 cases of mild flu have been reported. According to Dr K P Kushwaha of the BRD Medical College, eight to 10 patients are being admitted daily at BDR Medical College. However, while all government attention is focused on swine flu, few seem to be bothered about encephalitis. For swine flu, all hospitals have been put on alert, whereas there is no such alert for encephalitis. Tests for detection of swine flu, each of which is three times costlier, are being done daily, while encephalitis-detection tests are being conducted at a maximum of thrice a week.

“The reason is simple: swine flu is an imported disease where the victims are either people who have returned from abroad or belong to the middle class. Encephalitis is affecting children of poor people in eastern UP. We have to find ways to draw attention towards encephalitis deaths and cases,” said Dr R N Singh, who heads Encephalitis Eradication Movement, a private initiative.

Singh was here on Sunday to launch a campaign by writing a letter in blood to AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Volunteers followed him by writing similar letters in blood to PM Manmohan Singh and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The idea was to draw attention of the government towards encephalitis deaths. “I believe if Rahul Gandhi gives attention to the region, then both the state and the Central government will be on the alert,” said Singh.