Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is claiming little lives in the blink of an eye. Stark statistics are on the wall: it has killed over 60,000 across India in 2010-16, nearly 50 per cent of those who were infected. There’s fear in the air. Hundreds are fleeing villages. AES or the chamki bukhar is running faster and it is winning the race.
But what causes AES? The sugary drupe, contaminated water, parasites or heatstroke? The origins of the dreaded Acute Encephalitis Syndrome remain shrouded in mystery.
