Uttar Pradesh: ‘Mystery fever’ claims 84 lives, state on high alert

An ‘unknown fever’ has claimed 84 lives in the past six weeks in Uttar Pradesh, forcing the Yogi Adityanath government put on high alert across the state, a government official said on Friday.

The cases have been reported from six districts --- Bareilly, Badaun, Hardoi, Bahraich, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur, said the sources.

UP Director General of Health Services Padmakar Singh said, "Prima facie, it seems like these are cases of viral fever, typhoid and malaria. We are distributing medicines, organising camps and conducting mosquito-fogging drives. I am confident that we will be able to control this."

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State Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said, people take their sick relatives to quacks first, and approach authorised health officials only after things have gone out of control.

This was one of the main reasons for the high casualty rate, he said.

According to official reports, an awareness drive has been launched to ensure there is no panic and to counter the unnecessary alarm being caused “misleading and incorrect” media reports.

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Death audit is being conducted in all the cases and an active surveillance has been initiated in the rural and urban areas to prevent spread of the disease, the state spokesperson said.

The state government has constituted three teams of doctors to look into the cases in Bareilly and Badaun, UP DG (health) Padmakar Singh had told reporters in Bareilly.