Odisha boy writes to PM seeking help for encephalitis outbreak

A 10-year-old boy from Odisha wrote to Prime Minister seeking help from the outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis that has claimed almost eighty lives within a span of one month.

Unmesh Madhi, a fourth standard student of Polkanda Primary School in Malkangiri wrote to Prime Minister on Monday drawing his attention to towards the menace that has turned grim and led the state of Odisha towards complete despair.

"Save our lives. Many of my friends have died of Japanese fever. You are roaming around the globe. Cannot you come over to our village and see how children are dying here," Umesh Madhi wrote in his letter to Prime minister.

Almost eighty deaths due to Japanese Encephalitis have been recorded in the 505 villages of Malkangiri district as the Odisha government remains mum.

Madhi who considers the Prime Minister as his last resort, in his letter described the ordeal of parents who lost their children in the Japanese Encephalitis.

The deadly disease originates from pigs and spreads to humans, mostly children, through mosquitoes. Symptoms of Japanese Encephalitis include fever, nausea and fatigue.