Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, which is known as the litchi bowl of India, has been under a scanner for the past three weeks over childrens' death in the district due to encephalitis.

The encephalitis epidemic in north Bihar districts has raised many questions over litchi consumption, labelling the fruit as a potential cause behind the deadly outbreak.

Director of the National Research Centre on Litchi Dr Vishal Nath rubbished the claims that litchi was responsible for the deaths of so many children in Bihar.

Speaking to India Today TV, Dr Vishal Nath said, There is no connection between the outbreak of encephalitis and litchi."

Q&A:

The recent deaths of more than 110 children in Bihar from encephalitis have been attributed to natural toxins in litchi. Several studies have pointed to a connection between malnutrition and a toxin found in litchi. Do you agree?

Litchis have nothing to do with encephalitis. There are no toxins in the edible part of litchi. It is very unfortunate that people have been misled about the fruit.

From Muzaffarpur, this fruit gets transported to big cities including Mumbai and Delhi. It is being consumed across the country. Then, why did encephalitis not break out in other parts of the country?

Litchi is a nutritious fruit as it contains vitamin B, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and other minerals. In 11 years of my experience at the Muzaffarpur-based research centre, I did not come across any side effects of the fruit.

Some experts now suggest that litchi itself may not be the cause of encephalitis but mainly the fact that poor children go to bed on an empty stomach after eating it. So is it that eating litchi empty stomach could have caused AES?

Many fruits including litchi, mangoes, guavas, etc, are acidic in nature. It is advisable to not have acidic fruits or food items empty stomach. It may result in some abnormalities but certainly won't turn deadly.

Litchi is grown in around 1,00,000 hectares of land in the country and Muzaffarpur contributes merely 1/10th of it (8,000 - 10,000 hectares). Had litchi caused encephalitis and subsequent deaths of children below the age of 10 years, it would have also affected those living in other parts of the country where it is grown on a vast land.

Also, had litchi been the cause, it would have affected kids of rich families as their consumption of the fruit much more than rural consumption. But that is not the case.

A study done by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics found that children in the affected villages ate litchi during the day and often did not have dinner. The toxin known as hypoglycin A, which is naturally present in litchi, leads to a reduction in blood sugar levels during the night, causing hypoglycaemia. Typically, the children fell ill the next morning after eating the fruit, with serious symptoms such as high fever, brain function derangement and seizures. Do you agree?

Methyl Cyclopropyl Glycine (MCPG) is a transformed amino acid which is found in the seed of litchi in traces and not in fruit pulp. So why anyone would feed on litchi seeds alone and in how much quantity?

There are claims that after eating the fruit, glucose levels dropped in children. It cannot happen after having litchi as it contains sugar. Moreover, the areas in Muzaffarpur and its neighbouring districts from where most of the casualties have been reported are known for litchi cultivation.

The cases of suspected AES started reaching the SKMCH right from January, which is not the season of litchi. Then how can one say that the AES outbreak is a fallout of litchi?

State agriculture minister Prem Kumar ordered probe into the litchi links with children’s deaths due to encephalitis in Muzaffarpur. Do you think the government and the doctors are blaming it on litchi as they are unable to find the root cause of AES?

What we need is a detailed research on factors such as social-economic condition of the victims, food habits, nutrition, climatic conditions and above all, hygiene.

Malnutrition is a major problem and a malnutrition child has a weak immune system and more prone to catch diseases. Right now, we need to work with dedication to find the root cause of encephalitis. We support the government and will fully cooperate for any probe into the litchi links with the disease.

But, I also want to tell the government to focus on factors others than litchi otherwise we will never be able to find any solution without knowing the real cause of the disease.