 The mosquito-borne disease strikes in monsoon season |
Nine more people have died from Japanese encephalitis in India's Uttar Pradesh state, taking the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease to 99. Officials in the northern state say there is an acute shortage of a preventive vaccine.
More than 300 others have been treated for the disease in the past few weeks.
Outbreaks of encephalitis often occur during the monsoon season in India. It has killed 3,500 people in Uttar Pradesh in the past 25 years.
Senior officials, including the state's chief secretary, Neera Yadav, have reached the district of Gorakhpur to supervise relief operations.
Gorakhpur is one of the seven most-affected districts.
Children affected
The principal of Gorakhpur medical college, Dr Saudan Singh, told the BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi that at least 25 new patients, mostly children, were being brought to the hospital every day.
Dr Singh said children between the age of six months to 15 years were worst-affected.
Another doctor, KP Kushwaha, said the outbreak of the disease this year started earlier than usual.
Japanese encephalitis usually hits the state at the end of August but this time it struck in July, he said.
The disease has recurred annually in eastern regions of the state since about 1980.
Uttar Pradesh needs 50m vaccines every year, according to state health officials.
But the Kasauli-based Central Institute is only able to supply 200,000, they say.
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