Minor revolution
OUT of the 230 people who succumbed to Japanese encephalitis (JE) in Gorakhpur this year, only five have received the promised compensation, which was distributed under instructions from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. Initially, eligibility criteria for the compensation weren't clarified; later people below the poverty line were chosen.
District authorities had received guidelines on how to shortlist people for compensation but lack of blood and tissue samples from all patients hampered the process. Tests carried out earlier in Gorakhpur showed that only around 50 per cent of the samples tested positive for the JE virus, the rest testing positive for other viral diseases. The samples were sent to Lucknow for further testing but results are awaited. In the absence of confirmatory evidence of JE from the samples, it has been decided to compensate families of all who are believed to have succumbed to JE and are below the poverty line. Yadav also announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 for people who have suffered disabilities.
To verify the claims for compensation, the health department in Lucknow had sent teams to several districts in UP. In Gorakhpur, there are around 750 people who need to be verified for JE but the total number will be available only after the team completes its assessment. A similar exercise is being carried out in other JE affected areas in the state.
Meanwhile, Yadav has dismissed O P Singh, director general, medical and health department, Lucknow, possibly due to mismanagement of the JE control programme. Others have been asked to clear up their act. The new director general has promised that JE control programmes will now be implemented more effectively. Emphasis will be on ensuring vaccines are available.
The Union minister of health and family welfare, Anbumani Ramadoss, recently approached China for supplying JE vaccines. China manufactures the vaccine using hamster kidney which is not approved by the World Health Organization. The Union health ministry is also looking at increasing the capacity of the Central Research Institute, Kasauli