AlHijjah 3, 1434, Oct 8, 2013, SPA -- More than 350 people, mostly children, have died in an encephalitis outbreak in northern India, officials said Tuesday. Around 200 people were admitted to the main hospital in Uttar Pradesh state's Gorakhpur district, the epicentre of the flare-up. The first cases were reported in January but the outbreak worsened as the monsoon season began in June, dpa quoted doctors at Baba Raghav Das hospital as saying. "Till now 351 people, mostly children, have died due to the virus. Fifteen of them died in the past three days, however I can confirm there is no fresh major outbreak," hospital chief KP Kushwaha said by telephone. A total of 1,300 patients - from 16 districts across Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Bihar state - had been admitted so far, he said. Encephalitis is a brain inflammation, generally caused by a viral infection. The risk of the disease increases during and after the rainy season, which last roughly from June to October. The worst outbreak of the disease in the region was recorded in 2005. It claimed more than 1,000 lives.
