New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has asked several States, especially Assam, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh to take all necessary precautions to avert the possible outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) including Japanese Encephalitis (JE).
According to the government statistics in possession of ETV Bharat, Assam registered 993 AES cases in 2022 and 160 cases of death. The State registered 450 JE cases in the same year followed by 96 deaths.
Jharkhand registered 809 AES cases and 73 cases of JE. In the same year 2022, Manipur registered 286 AES cases and 6 deaths followed by 58 JE cases and six deaths. Meghalaya registered 254 AES cases and one death followed by 67 cases of JE and one death.
According to the statistics, Odisha registered 257 AES cases in 2022 and six deaths followed by 26 cases of Japanese Encephalitis. Tamil Nadu registered 366 AES cases and 22 JE cases whereas Uttar Pradesh registered 1092 AES cases in 2022 and 24 deaths followed by 112 cases of JE and three deaths.
As per the government statistics, West Bengal registered 1287 cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and 24 deaths in 2022 followed by 39 JE cases and three deaths. "It's basically from February to September cases of AES/JE become a major concern. Although we have asked all States to take all required precautions, we will be also sending central teams where ever required to assist the district administration," a senior official of the Health Ministry told ETV Bharat.
However, apart from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases like chickenpox, chikungunya, dengue, rubella, and cholera keep coming from across different States.
According to government data, 942 JE cases have been reported from across India in 2022 as well as 127 deaths. During the same period, a total number of 6002 AES cases were reported from different States across India followed by 232 deaths. The number was, however, low in 2021 as 787 JE cases were reported from across India with 70 deaths. The number of AES cases was 6377 in 2021 and 221 deaths.
Acute Encephalitis Syndrome including Japanese Encephalitis is a viral disease transmitted by invective bites of female mosquitoes mainly belonging to Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Culex vishnui and Culex pseudovishnui group.
JE virus is primarily zoonotic in its natural cycle and man is an accidental host which primarily affects the central nervous system. This viral infection comes with classical symptoms similar to any other virus causing encephalitis. The infection may result in febrile illness of variable severity associated with neurological symptoms ranging from headache to meningitis or encephalitis.
