Japanese Encephalitis: a life threatening disease

Abstract

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is neurological infection which is caused by Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a flavivirus, and is closely related to St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile encephalitis. It is predominant in rural areas of Asia, which spread through bites of culicine mosquitoes, most often Culex tritaeniorhynchus. JE has broad range of manifestations. It can range from subtle changes in behavior to serious problems, including blindness, ataxia, weakness, and movement disorders.Japanese encephalitis virus is endemic in 24 countries in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions with more than 3 billion people at risk of infection. JE is the main cause of viral encephalitis in people in many countries of Asia amounting almost 68,000 clinical cases per year. Children are at greatest risk, with adults in endemic areas having protective immunity as a consequence of childhood infection. This disease is of particular importance in Gorakhpur, eastern belt of UP, the state with the largest population in India, where a large number of children have been dying in the past several years with alarming frequency since 1978.