Western Uttar Pradesh grapples with the outbreak of a mystery fever

Uttar Pradesh is grappling with the outbreak of a mystery fever in a few western districts at a time the state has witnessed a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases.

The disease — charac­ter­i­sed by high fever, sudden drop in blood platelet count and, in some cases, severe dehyd­rat­ion — has so far claimed 70 lives, mostly children. Firoz­a­bad has been the worst hit dist­r­ict, with nea­r­ly 50 cas­ualties. It has also grip­ped Agra, Math­ura, Mainpuri, Eta­wah and Kasganj in the past few days.

On Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered setting up a special team to investigate the outbreak and suggest