Six more people die of Japanese Encephalitis in Assam as toll rises to 82; 11 cases of JE detected in Arunachal Pradesh

Guwahati: Six more people died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Assam on Monday, taking the toll to 82, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said. The number of JE positive cases in the state increased to 374 with 82 cases being reported on Monday, it said. [caption id=“attachment_6998931” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. News18[/caption] One death each was reported from Barpeta, Darrang, Hailakandi, Jorhat, Lakhimpur and Tinsukia districts, the NHM bulletin said. Encephalitis, a vector-borne disease affects the brain. The six persons who died were undergoing treatment at Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of hospitals in the six districts, it added. 11 cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) have been detected in Arunachal Pradesh, an official said on Monday. Five cases have been detected in East Siang district, three in Papum Pare and one each in Upper Subansiri, Kra Daadi and Lohit districts, the official said. However, no death has been reported from anywhere in the state due to JE, Director of Health Services Dr M Lego said. “All the patients who have tested positive with JE virus are under treatment in various hospitals of the state,” Dr Lego said. The director said the Health Department has initiated all preventive and other necessary steps to contain the disease and prevent it from spreading further. He appealed the people to immediately report to the health officials in case of fever with symptoms of the stiffness of body and drowsiness. “The state government is seized of the matter and alive to the situation,” he said, adding all the district medical officers have been alerted to set up surveillance, IEC activities and anti-vector measures," Dr Lego added.