Japanese Encephalitis claims 28 lives in Assam

The centre has already sent a four-member team to Assam to stock the situation after the Japanese Encephalitis claimed more than 140 children lives in Bihar.

According to the Assam state health department, 28 people have died of JE and 54 died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in the state till June 30 this year.

Hundred more positive cases of  JE and 310 positive cases of AES have been detected in 15 districts of the state.

JE has claimed seven lives alone in Jorhat district, while five in Dibrugarh, two in Karimganj district, one each in Kamrup, Barpeta, Nagaon, Sonitpur districts.

Assam state programme officer of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Dr Umesh Phangso said that, there is a panic situation in Assam.

“In this year, 310 number of AES cases have been recorded  and total death is 54. 100 number of JE cases have been recorded upto June 30 and the total number of death is 28. In 2018, total JE case was reported 509 and AES was 769 and 94 died of JE and 111 of AES. We are communicating with the Government of India about the situation. We held a serious meeting and we getting the commitment of all diagnostics like IgM JE, JE testing kit, adult vaccination campaign in few districts of Assam, especially 20 districts. Already the Government of India has given the assurance to conduct the campaign,” Dr Phangso said.

According to the reports, 735 people have died due to Japanese Encephalitis in Assam since 2013.

In Assam, Japanese Encephalitis has claimed 134 lives in 2013, 165 in 2014, 135 in 2015, 92 in 2016, 87 in 2017, 94 in 2018 and 28 in this year so far.

(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati, Assam)