'So far 22 patients have been admitted. It is being stated they might be suffering from encephalitis but it has not been confirmed yet,' a doctor said on Monday.

Gaya: Six children have died at Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College in Gaya since 2 July and cause could be encephalitis but it is yet to be established, a doctor said on Monday.

A total of 22 children have been admitted in the medical college since 2 July out of whom six died, Medical Superintendent VK Prasad told ANI.

"So far 22 patients have been admitted. It is being stated they might be suffering from encephalitis but it has not been confirmed yet. Reports are awaited. The patients are being treated. Six have died," he said.

The death toll due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) on Monday mounted to 142 in Muzaffarpur, the district which is facing a severe outbreak of the vector-borne disease for the last one month.

AES is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms such as high fever, vomiting and in extreme cases, brain dysfunction, seizure, and inflammation of heart and kidney.