Number Of Deaths Due To Encephalitis Rises To 54 In Odisha

The Japanese Encephalitis has killed over 150 children and taken epidemic proportions in Malkangiri district due to negligence.ii. A two-year-old girl from Padia block died while undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit of the district headquarters hospital in Odisha , taking the toll to 54. At present, 29 children, afflicted with the disease are undergoing treatment at the district headquarters hospital

and four of them are in the ICU in a serious condition.105 out of the 184 children admitted to the district headquarters hospital in Odisha with JE have been discharged after being cured.

iv. The deadly disease, which originates from pigs and spreads to humans, mostly children, through mosquitoes, had surfaced in the district around 38 days ago.

v. Japanese encephalitis virus JEV is the most important cause of viral encephalitis in Asia. It is a mosquito-borne flavivirus, and belongs to the same genus as dengue. The disease is predominantly found in rural and periurban settings, where humans live in closer proximity to these vertebrate hosts.