Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Updated : June 23, 2014 9:42 AM IST
The Business Standard has reported that the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has assured that the Central Government will look into the MCI (Medical Council of India) functioning as its working is raising eyebrows in the media and creating doubts in people. He added, 'The way MCI is functioning currently is a very serious issue for the entire country. Our government will clearly look into this matter and authoritatively monitor its functioning. Whatever discrepancies are noticed during the investigation will be removed.' (Read: Bihar to have its 1st encephalitis immunization campaign)
He was asked about how MCI stated that due to lack of proper facilities and infrastructure it has decreased the government seats of the medical college, but increased the number of seats in the private colleges having less infrastructural facilities and granted recognition to private institutions. The Health Minister who was on a three-day visit to Bihar for inspecting the progress of the construction work at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, and also get a first hand account of the death toll of children affected by the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in the Muzaffarpur region and its adjoining districts. (Read: Bihar encephalitis update: Parents now pray for a miracle)
Since the outbreak of the encephalitis disease in Bihar before three weeks , almost 137 children below the age of six died and approximately 700 are admitted in two of the hospitals in the Muzaffarpur region. The exact reason behind the disease outbreak is still not known clearly.
Mr Harsh Vardhan said that both the national organzations like National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as well as international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working in coordination to find out the exact cause of the disease. He also said that once he completes his three-day trip to the State of Bihar he will be visiting the Atlanta (US) based CDC institute to request senior doctors and scientists to look into the encephalitis case and crack the AES cause. (Read: Bihar encephalitis update: 92 children dead)
Lastly he said, 'As soon as I return to Delhi, I will go to CDC at Atlanta and meet their senior scientists and doctors and discus about AES and ask them to identify the disease cause that has killed so many innocent lives in the state of Bihar.'
What is encephalitis?
Encephalitis is a disease that results in inflammation of the brain. The patient's central nervous system is affected. While the lesser symptoms include headaches and fevers, the more severe ones cause the onset of mental issues like seizures, confusion, disorientation, tremors and hallucinations. It can be caused due to bacterial or viral infections of the brain, injection of toxic substances or increased complications of an infectious disease. (Read:Disease trends in India)
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