‘Freed From Encephalitis In 2 Years’: Yogi Adityanath Says Congress, SP Ignored UP's Deadliest Crisis

Published 11 August 2026 · politics

News india ‘Freed From Encephalitis In 2 Years’: Yogi Adityanath Says Congress, SP Ignored UP's Deadliest Crisis ‘Freed From Encephalitis In 2 Years’: Yogi Adityanath

News india ‘Freed From Encephalitis In 2 Years’: Yogi Adityanath Says Congress, SP Ignored UP's Deadliest Crisis ‘Freed From Encephalitis In 2 Years’: Yogi Adityanath Says Congress, SP Ignored UP's Deadliest Crisis Published By, Last Updated: August 11, 2026, 11:50 IST Speaking at News18 India’s Diamond States Summit (UP Chapter), Yogi accused previous Congress and Samajwadi Party governments of failing to address encephalitis effectively. Rapid Read UP CM Yogi Adityanath speaks at News18 India DSS UP event in Gorakhpur. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that the state had been “freed from encephalitis within two years" of his government taking office, referring to one of eastern UP’s longest-running public health crises. Speaking at News18 India’s Diamond States Summit (UP Chapter), Yogi recalled his years as a Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur and accused previous Congress and Samajwadi Party governments of failing to address the disease effectively.

“I fought this fight even as MP. When I got the opportunity to fight as CM, I ensured the state was freed from this disease within two years," he said. For decades, encephalitis – particularly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) – haunted districts such as Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Deoria and Basti. The disease struck mostly children during the monsoon months and became a recurring tragedy for thousands of families. The scale of the crisis was severe. According to a peer-reviewed study on AES outbreaks in Uttar Pradesh, the state reported 9,299 suspected JE/AES cases and 3,103 deaths during 2008–2018. Over the entire 2008–2018 period, Uttar Pradesh recorded 36,509 AES cases and about 5,700 deaths. The worst single outbreak came earlier. Official records from Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur show that around 1,500 patients died during the 2005 encephalitis outbreak, nearly 90 per cent of them children.

Since the first major outbreak in 1978, more than 30,000 encephalitis deaths have been recorded at BRD Medical College alone, making the Gorakhpur region synonymous with the disease. Even in the years immediately before Yogi became chief minister in March 2017, the numbers remained alarming. Uttar Pradesh recorded 4,742 AES cases and 654 deaths in 2017, including 93 deaths due to Japanese Encephalitis. After 2017, the state government launched a multi-pronged campaign that included large-scale JE vaccination, sanitation drives, safe drinking water initiatives, better surveillance, expansion of pediatric intensive care facilities, and quicker referral systems. Official data show a significant decline in Japanese Encephalitis deaths: Uttar Pradesh reported 25 JE deaths in 2018, 21 in 2019, 9 in 2020, 5 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 3 in 2023, and 2 each in 2024 and 2025.