India's Decaying Health System Sees 140 Children Die in Outbreak
- Bihar starts door-to-door survey to prevent further deaths
- Deaths the fallout from ‘pathetic’ health system, says expert
A mother holds her child who is receiving medical care for Acute Encephalitis Syndrome at a hospital in Muzaffarpur in the Indian state of Bihar on June 20.
Photographer: STR/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
It’s a case that’s exposed India’s crumbling health care system -- 140 children have so far died this year in what’s now an annual encephalitis outbreak in the eastern state of Bihar.
One of India’s poorest states, Bihar has been struggling with an outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome since the start of June, affecting more than 600 children in more than a dozen districts. The situation was worsened by a heat wave that saw temperatures crossing 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in recent weeks.