The return of Japanese encephalitis

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Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_the-return-of-a-deadly-disease_1297083

The return of a deadly disease
Sandeep Ashar / DNA
Saturday, October 10, 2009 2:57 IST


Mumbai: The deadly Japanese encephalitis has made its presence felt in the city after a gap of six years. Naresh Ahir, 16, a resident of Chunabhatti, is suffering from the viral infection that affects the brain and the central nervous system. He has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion. Although there are signs of improvement, his condition is still critical, said hospital sources.
The virus causing Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to culex tritaeniorhynchus and culex vishnui groups. They mostly breed in flooded paddy fields. The virus spreads rapidly in the presence of pigs. There are not many paddy fields near Mumbai. Nor is the pig population very large in the city. Jayaraj Thanekar, executive health officer, BMC, said the disease was extremely rare in the city. "Five cases were reported in 2003. This (Ahir's) is the first case since then."

It took 25 days to diagnose that Ahir was suffering from Japanese encephalitis. His father, Rajkumar Ahir, said that the family got him admitted to the hospital on September 14.

"He had a persistent fever and suffered severe headaches. He felt nauseatedall the time," said Rajkumar. "We initially took him to a private hospital, but the doctors there did not treat him. He was referred to the Sion hospital, and has been in the ICU since."

After blood samples sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, tested positive for Japanese encephalitis, officials from BMC's insecticide department surveyed the locality where Ahir's family lives to find out if there was any breeding site of the culex mosquito. Insecticide officer Deepak Adsul said no culex mosquito was found. However, there were birds in Ahir's home, and they could have been the carriers.

The public health department carried out a survey to look for symptoms among people living in the neighbourhood. Fogging machines were used in the area. Doctors said that the fatality rate of the disease was 60%. Long-term disabilities are common in those who survive the disease, which is endemic in parts of South India. The disease has an incubation period of 5 to 15 days. "It affects the central nervous system. Can cause severe complications, and even death," said Dr SN Acharya, physician. a deadly disease
Sandeep Ashar / DNA
Saturday, October 10, 2009 2:57 IST

Mumbai: The deadly Japanese encephalitis has made its presence felt in the city after a gap of six years. Naresh Ahir, 16, a resident of Chunabhatti, is suffering from the viral infection that affects the brain and the central nervous system. He has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion. Although there are signs of improvement, his condition is still critical, said hospital sources.

The virus causing Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to culex tritaeniorhynchus and culex vishnui groups. They mostly breed in flooded paddy fields. The virus spreads rapidly in the presence of pigs. There are not many paddy fields near Mumbai. Nor is the pig population very large in the city. Jayaraj Thanekar, executive health officer, BMC, said the disease was extremely rare in the city. "Five cases were reported in 2003. This (Ahir's) is the first case since then."

It took 25 days to diagnose that Ahir was suffering from Japanese encephalitis. His father, Rajkumar Ahir, said that the family got him admitted to the hospital on September 14.

"He had a persistent fever and suffered severe headaches. He felt nauseatedall the time," said Rajkumar. "We initially took him to a private hospital, but the doctors there did not treat him. He was referred to the Sion hospital, and has been in the ICU since."

After blood samples sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, tested positive for Japanese encephalitis, officials from BMC's insecticide department surveyed the locality where Ahir's family lives to find out if there was any breeding site of the culex mosquito. Insecticide officer Deepak Adsul said no culex mosquito was found. However, there were birds in Ahir's home, and they could have been the carriers.

The public health department carried out a survey to look for symptoms among people living in the neighbourhood. Fogging machines were used in the area. Doctors said that the fatality rate of the disease was 60%. Long-term disabilities are common in those who survive the disease, which is endemic in parts of South India. The disease has an incubation period of 5 to 15 days. "It affects the central nervous system. Can cause severe complications, and even death," said Dr SN Acharya, physician.

 

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Re: The return of Japanese encephalitis

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...se-encephalitis-cases/articleshow/5161276.cms

State to record age-shift in Japanese encephalitis cases
Umesh Isalkar , TNN 26 October 2009, 05:28am IST

PUNE: Maharashtra has started recording the age shift in those infected by the Japanese encephalitis (JE), the vector borne viral killer.
Earlier, scientists believed that the virus infected only the under-15 paediatric age-group. However, in recent years, this infection is being detected among adults in various parts of the state. Almost 40 per cent cases reported till now in the last three years have been in the above-15 age-group.

"Till December 2006, all cases of JE were seen in the below-15-years age-group. We started to witness an age shift in those infected by the JE from 2007 onwards," said Pandit Chavan, deputy director of the state health services. In 2007, a 40-year-old tested positive for JE infection, while a 26-year-old man was found to be infected in Wardha district this year. As many as five cases of JE were reported in the state in the last three years, of which two were found among adults and the rest below-15-years age-group, Chavan added.

Till 2001, there were no JE cases in Maharashtra. However, during 2002 and 2003, JE infection was reported in the eastern districts such as Bhandara, Gondiya and Nagpur, when where there was focal outbreaks leading to 16 and 115 deaths, respectively, Chavan said.

In 2004, there were 3 focal outbreaks of JE in Gadchiroli, Parbhani and Wardha districts. During 2005, there were six focal outbreaks of JE in Amravati, Yeotmal and Nagpur districts. "All these cases were in the age-group of below-15- years,'' Chavan said. No death due to JE occurred in the last three years, he added.

JE now occurs mainly in India, Nepal, China, Thialand and Vietnam and sporadically in Indonaesia, Singapore and Malaysia. "In endemic areas, children below 15 years are primarily affected. In non-endemic areas, all age-groups are affected, children and older adults being the predominant victims," Chavan said.

Microbiologist Siddharth Dalvi said that, "Japanese encephalitis is predominantly a childhood disease. If adults were not exposed to the virus as children, and have now come in contact with the virus, then they may catch the infection. This could be the reason why a larger percentage of clinical cases are being seen in adults in some parts of the country. This is a cause for some concern because it indirectly indicates that the virus may now be circulating in a wider geographical area than before."