National
15-year-old boy dies of Japanese encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis has claimed life of a 15-year-old boy in Rajbiraj Municipality in Saptari district.Japanese encephalitis has claimed life of a 15-year-old boy in Rajbiraj Municipality in Saptari district.
The deceased has been identified as Nisachal Dev, Rajbiraj Municipality-9.
Senior District Public Health Administrator (DPHA) Bijaya Kumar Jha said Dev died while undergoing treatment at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan on Sunday. He was diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis, said Jha.
Dev was taken to the hospital two weeks ago after he ran a high fever.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is transmitted to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes of the Culex species (mainly Culex tritaeniorhynchus). Humans, once infected, do not develop sufficient viraemia (the presence of viruses in the blood) to infect feeding mosquitoes. The virus exists in a transmission cycle between mosquitoes, pigs, wild boars and/or water birds like ducks.
Most JEV infections are mild (fever and headache) or without apparent symptoms, but approximately 1 in 250 infections results in severe clinical illness, according to the World Health Organisation.
In view of possible spread of the virus, the local administration has decided to organise a campaign to control stray pigs in the municipality.
“There are around 3,000 pigs in the municipality. We have asked locals to manage them within a week,” said Bishnu Gurung, Executive Officer of Rajbiraj Municipality.
The municipality has also requested locals to maintain their pigsties. DPHA Jha said the District Public Health Office has also started awareness-raising programmes about the disease.
Last year, at least three people in the district were found to have JEV infections.