Japanese Encephalitis cases on the decline in Assam

GUWAHATI: After having claimed 142 lives in Assam this year, cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) are finally on the decline. According to the latest figures available with the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam, no fresh JE deaths and positive cases have been reported in the last two days.
Though official said that the possibility of new JE cases persist till September, this year the decline in the number of deaths from the deadly viral disease in the first half of August itself has shown that the efforts and sincerity of the health officials have yielded a positive outcome.Alarmed over the JE menace, central teams visited Assam during June 30-July 1 and July 8-July 10 to review the situation and provide technical assistance to the state.
"June-July is the peak season for JE outbreak. Naturally, we were expecting that JE cases will come down from August. But this year, eventually the administrative system took immediate measures after the JE menace set alarm bells ringing in the state this monsoon," said an NHM official.
While on an average, 25 to 35 fresh cases of JE were reported on a daily basis during the peak period in mid-July, this week (from Sunday to Friday) a total of 13 JE-positive cases were reported by the NHM from different parts of the state. This week, two deaths due to JE was reported on Wednesday - the highest number of deaths in a day in that period of time. From Sunday to Friday, a total of four JE death cases have been confirmed by NHM.
From January, a total of 606 JE-positive cases were reported from various parts of the state, while the death toll due to the viral disease has touched 142 in Assam.
Health experts say mosquito-borne diseases are usually prevalent in Assam mainly due to wet weather conditions and dense vegetation. But this year, JE has spread out from the upper Assam region to across the state, with pig-rearing for earning livelihood gaining popularity across the state. Pigs and wild birds are the main carriers of the JE virus mainly during the monsoon season, when stagnant water creates conducive atmosphere for breeding of the Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquito - the primary vector for JE.