Of the 40 reported JE positive cases so far this year, just two have been found with a history of JE vaccination. In a tizzy, health officials now plan to visit each of these JE positive houses and trace their vaccination history again.

So far this year, there have been over 650 Acute Encephalitis Syndrome cases and 174 children have succumbed to AES in eastern UP.

Sources said a majority of AES cases admitted at the BRD have also been found without a vaccination history.

While state government claims that since AES cases are not JE, implying that the JE vaccination has worked, experts say JE vaccination protects just the vaccinated child and so every unimmunised case should be taken carefully.

“This is a serious cause of concern because JE vaccination protects just the child, who has been vaccinated. It does not create herd immunity like oral polio vaccine,” said Dr Pritu Dhalaria, director, immunisation projects of PATH in India. PATH is an international non-profit organization providing technical support to various countries, including India, for JE programmes.

“It is clear we have missed a lot of children and now the biggest challenge is to strengthen routine immunization and see how majority of the children can be covered.”

None of the officials at BRD Medical College were available for comment.

The state government is now planning to visit the houses of JE positive patients and talk to them in detail about vaccination of their children. “The first JE vaccination campaign in Gorakhpur took place in 2006. Thus it becomes difficult for parents to remember the vaccination of their children. We have asked the chief medical officers of the affected districts in eastern UP to get these figures verified. The real picture will only emerge after that,” said

Dr VS Nigam, joint director, communicable disease wing of the state health department.

Meanwhile, just-released JE coverage evaluation survey report, which was conducted in collaboration with immunization wing of Government of India and partners like UNICEF and WHO in different parts of the country including Gorakhapur and Behraich in UP, has also found lacunae in JE vaccination campaign.

The study found that just 52 per cent children in Gorakhpur received JE vaccine during campaign in the district despite the fact that around 77 per cent mothers were found to have knowledge about the campaign. While the figures have not been accepted by the state government, the officials associated with the survey say it was only in UP that the huge gap was found in the figures quoted by the state and those found in the study.