Japanese encephalitis

• The efficacy of immunization vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis is around 86.7%, according to a new study by the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune.
• The government uses Chinese-made live-attenuated SA 14-14-2 vaccines

ABOUT JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS

• In 1871, the first case of Japanese Encephalitis was recorded in Japan.
• Japanese encephalitis is the main cause of acute encephalitis syndrome in South Asia, including India.
• It is caused by a flavivirus that belongs to the same genus as dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses.
• It is spread by Culex mosquitoes.
• There are 68,000 cases globally per year.
• Initial symptoms include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, nausea and vomiting which can progress to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) accompanied by seizures, coma and paralysis.
• In India, Japanese encephalitis cases are reported to be high in the north-central and north-eastern regions, medium to high endemic in the south and low in the north-west region.
  • Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are the high-burden states.
• The disease does not transmit from one person to another.
• There is no cure for the disease.