Six more people succumbed to the deadly Japanese encephalitis in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, taking the toll upto 99.

BDR Medical College Principal Saudan Singh said 117 children were presently admitted in the paediatric ward of the Nehru Hospital in the medical college, with the number of patients rising to 140.

The administration was prompted to launch a massive vaccination programme in the rural areas after 10 more cases pertaining to the suspected disease were reported from the district.

UP: Encephalitis death toll rises to 93

Launching the vaccination programme on a mass scale following the directive of Governor T V Rajeshwar, who visited the affected district on thursday, District Divisional Commissioner Arvind Kumar said people were advised to keep their surroundings clean especially those residing near the piggeries.

The governor had visited two wards of the hospital, where about 130 people suffering from the desease were being treated, and instructed that arrangements be made to accomodate as many patients as possible. Children from Gorakhpur and Basti divisions and neighboring Bihar and Nepal have been admitted here.

79 children die of suspected brain fever

Pigs are believed to be the main carriers of encephalitis virus, which is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. People have been advised to use mosquito nets and to take other measures to destroy the parasites.