In view of the rising encephalitis deaths in Bihar, Odisha government on June 18 directed officials to collect samples of litchi being sold in the market and test it for any toxins affecting human health.

Health Minister Naba Kishore Das directed Food Safty Commissioners to test the litchi being sold in the market after some reports suggested that the fruit was responsible for the deaths in Bihar. The death toll from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and Japanese Encephalitis has increased to 100 in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.