Gorakhpur, Oct 18 (UNI) The Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh has reached 250, following the death of seven children during the last 24 hrs.

So far, at least 1,406 people, mostly children, sufferring from JE have been treated at the medical college and 250 have died.

Joint director health Dr Umakant Prasad said here the inflow of patients was continuing at the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College. As many as 93 patients including 13 fresh cases are undergoing treatment at hospital.

The patients hail from Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Gorakhpur has the dubious distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts eastern Uttar Pradesh during monsoon every year.

The government had undertaken a massive vaccination drive against the vector-borne disease. However, the efficacy and penetration of the drive has come under cloud with the mounting toll.

JE is a disease which is spread to humans by infected mosquitoes.

It affects the central nervous system causing severe complications and even death.

It usually starts as a flu-like illness, with fever, chills, exhaustion, headache, nausea and vomiting, while restlessness can also occur in the early stage. The disease can progress into serious infection of the brain. Among the survivors, 30 per cent would have serious brain damage including paralysis.

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