At least 53 children have died in northern India in the last 10 days from a deadly brain disease believed linked to a toxic substance found in lychee fruit, health officials said today.

The deaths were reported from two hospitals in Bihar state’s Muzaffarpur district, the eastern part of the country famed for it lush lychee orchards, officials said.

The children all showed symptoms of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), senior health official Ashok Kumar Singh said, adding most had suffered a sudden loss of glucose in their blood.

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