Summary:
Culex mosquito, which feeds on animal blood, especially pigs, is the main vector of the disease.“Of the 108 Japanese encephalitis (JE) cases diagnosed in Maharashtra so far this year, six were symptomatic and needed immediate treatment for the viral infection . PUNE: Mosquito-borne viral disease Japanese encephalitis has emerged as a potential threat in Maharashtra this year with dengue and chikungunya.The state has recorded 108 cases of the disease, mainly in endemic districts, in the past 11 months as against 30 recorded throughout 2017. But these patients were not symptomatic and didn’t need treatment,” state entomologist Mahendra Jagtap told TOI.The six patients reporting severe illness were from the endemic region of Vidarbha, including Gadchiroli and Wardha. Paediatrician Jayant Joshi, former president of IAP, Pune, said, “Every case of fever with encephalopathy (brain inflammation) should be probed for JE. The remaining 102 cases were detected during fever surveillance undertaken in the affected areas..