Japanese Encephalitis toll at 377

Gorakhpur, Dec 9 (UNI) The toll due to the fatal Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease in Eastern Uttar Pradesh has mounted to 377, following the death of one more child during the last 48 hrs.

Since April, almost 2,000 people suffering from JE have been admitted to different hospitals in the region, mostly at Baba Raghav Das Medical College here.

Joint director health Dr Umakant Prasad said 24 patients, including 10 new cases were still under treatment.

The JE patients belong to Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur districts of the state.

Out of the 377 JE casualties, 46 victims hailed from Bihar, while Nepal accounted for 8 JE cases reported so far.

Gorakhpur has the dubious distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts the eastern UP during monsoon every year.

The government had undertaken a massive vaccination drive against the vector-borne disease, however, the efficacy and penetration of the drive has come under cloud with the mounting toll.

JE, a mosquito-borne flaviviral infection, is the leading cause of childhood encephalitis in Asia, where up to 50,000 cases may be reported annually. Most infections are asymptomatic, but when encephalitis develops, the case-fatality rate can be as high as 30 per cent.

According to experts, neuropsychiatric sequelae are reported in 50 per cent of survivors. Although children are at greater risk of infection in endemic areas, outdoor occupation, recreational exposure, and male gender are also risk factors for infection.

Immunity to JE virus from previous vaccination or naturally acquired immunity reduces the risk of illness.

JE virus is transmitted chiefly by mosquitoes in the Culex vishnui complex; the specific species depends on the geographic area. In China and other endemic areas in Asia, C. tritaeniorhyncus is the principal vector. This species feed outdoors beginning at dusk and during evening hours until dawn.

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