As many as 66 children have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, officials said.

A total of 55 patients died at Shri Krishna Medical College while 11 of them died in private Kejriwal hospital in Muzaffarpur. Till now over 130 have been hospitalised in the district.

District Magistrate of Muzaffarpur on Friday said that for students till class eight, schools will remain closed till June 22 and for students in higher standards, classes will be held only till 10.30 am.

Encephalitis is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headaches and has been claiming lives in the district for the past few weeks.