Kanpur: ANE outbreak on GSVM medical college campus, one student in coma

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Kanpur: For the first time, an outbreak of acute necrotizing encephalitis (ANE) has been reported in Kanpur. The medicos of GSVM medical college contracted this disease first. More than 30 medical students are down with high grade fever and ANE has been confirmed in seven of them.

The first case was reported in the medical college on Monday when a third year student from Barabanki was brought to LLR hospital’s ICU with high fever and severe headache. She was confirmed to be infected with ANE on Tuesday.

She slipped into coma and was on life support, said the medical college officials, adding that blood samples of 69 students were taken on Tuesday and Wednesday and sent to King George’s Medical University in Lucknow for examination.

The outbreak of ANE and fever gripped the medical college campus within four days of more than 20 pigs being found dead.

“We have admitted five medicos with ANE in special maternity ward and two of them are on ventilator,” said a senior doctor.

Vice principal Dr Richa Giri said a student was admitted to LLR hospital with high fever and severe headache. She went unconscious and was currently comatose. The medical tests suggested she was infected with ANE which had spread in her brain. Her parents have been informed.

After this the doctors examined the students (both in boys’ and girls’ hostels) on Wednesday and found six more with ANE symptoms. Three students were of third year, two of para-2 and one of final year. Five of them were rushed to the special maternity ward and one to the ICU, Giri said. They all had ANE, she added.

But sources said the number of students with fever and severe headache was more than 30 and special teams were monitoring their condition.

In view of the prevailing situation, the medical college administration has cancelled the terminal exams, which were to begin on Wednesday. Dr Giri said as per the students, they were not fit to give these exams following which the decision was taken.

On the other hand, a team of doctors comprising Dr Yashwant Rao and Dr Anand Narayan Singh toured the campus and found 16 more dead pigs. All of them were buried on the campus. Medical college spokesman Dr Ganesh Shankar said it was possible that the spread of the disease on the campus was due to the pigs and the unhygienic conditions they caused. He said the medical college was looking into this.

Neurologist in GSVM medical college Dr Alok Varma said ANE was rare. MRI scan had shown blood clotting in the brain with swelling. Apart from this, there were unknown viruses in the body. The blood samples were sent to Lucknow, he said.

 

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