Pictures: Brain fever outbreak wreaks havoc in India

Children showing symptoms of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) being treated at a hospital in Muzaffarpur district. Doctors are not sure what the cause is, but one theory is that the culprit is a toxin found in lychees eaten by children of poor families who go to bed with empty stomachs.

A woman mourns over the body of her daughter, who died of acute encephalitis, outside a hospital in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

An Indian child suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is treated at the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur district in the eastern state of Bihar

An Indian child suspected to have Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) arrives at the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur district in the eastern state of Bihar.

A child showing symptoms of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) being treated at a hospital in Muzaffarpur

An Indian child suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) at the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur district in the eastern state of Bihar

Indian women cry after the death of a child from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) at the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur district

An Indian child receives medical treatment due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) as family members react in a hospital in Muzaffarpur

An Indian child suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is treated at the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur

Children showing symptoms of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) undergoing treatment at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), in Muzaffarpur