Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES): The Case Study of Muzaffarpur District of Bihar
Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a serious public health problem in India specially Muzaffarpur district in Bihar. Bihar has recorded 188 cases of acute encephalitis syndrome, with 45 deaths since January. All casualties are children, the maximum in Muzaffarpur. Every year there is a repeat of the same, still no specific measures have been taken. The death of over 125 children in Muzaffarpur due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome is very shocking. These children come from low-income group families and are poorly nourished. It is time to remember Elizabeth Barrett Browning for her poem ‘The Cry of the Children’ dedicated to the condition of children in England who were made to clean chimneys and work in hazardous industries. As a result, many would catch serious diseases and eventually die an early death. The poem examines children’s manual labor forced upon them by their exploiters. It was published in August 1843 in Blackwood’s Magazine. However, since then England has moved far ahead. All the children go to school, get proper nutrition and health care required of them.
