Recently, more and more cases of Japanese encephalitis are being reported in India and Nepal, bringing the total number of death due to the disease to 1,166, mostly children.
Some reports suggest this maybe the worst outbreak in decades.

Why are we so concerned?
The proximity: Since most of the cases are concentrated in North East India – the distance from that region to North West Vietnam is roughly
900 km (slightly more than the distance from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Danang).

What is Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and what is the cause?
Japanese Encephalitis is a viral disease caused by the Japanese Encephalitis virus.
It is transmitted by infected mosquito bites to humans, causing inflammation of the brain, leading to permanent brain damage, neurologic deficits
and high mortality rate.
The disease is prevalent in Asia, with a “belt-like” spread from India to southern Japan. When the virus, carried by the mosquito’s saliva enters by a bite into the human bloodstream it replicates itself in different body cells.
Eventually the virus attacks the central nervous system, causing the typical encephalitis symptoms to appear.

What are the symptoms of Japanese Encephalitis?
Incubation period from the bite is usually 7-14 days.
Some common complaints include:

• High fever, nausea, neck stiffness
• Headache
• Seizures, reduced levels of consciousness and possible coma

Children younger than 15 years old are at high risk for having the most severe disease, mortality rate is highest in children aged 5-9 years.Infected patients can deteriorate quickly, mortality rate among sick is reported at as high as 30%. Even if the patient does recover there is a very high chance of a permanent neurologic complication, and only 10-15% of patients make a full recovery. Limited data also suggest some pregnant women may suffer miscarriage from Japanese Encephalitis if the disease is contracted during the firsttrimester of pregnancy.

How does JE spread?
The Virus is passed on by a bite of an infected mosquito that has previously sucked blood from an infected animal - mainly pigs and birds.Swallows are often hosts for the virus. In other words, Pigs and bird populations constitute a reservoir of the disease.The virus is not transmitted from person to person!