GUWAHATI:
Two more people lost their lives to Japanese encephalitis (JE) in Assam on July 11, taking the death toll in the state, since the first week of July, to 10.
Along with the two deaths reported from Barpeta and Jorhat, there were also 12 new cases of JE reported from various districts. Morigaon reported 3, Nagaon, Karimganaj and Sonitpur reported 2 each, and Chirang, Darrang and Tinsukia reported one each.
The state annually records a surge in JE cases, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, from July to September each year. Given the rising cases of JE, the state health department has directed all district authorities to keep a close watch on the situation.
“All medical colleges and hospitals have been asked to make arrangements of dedicated ICU for JE/APS cases. Community medicine departments of zonal medical colleges have been asked to support inoculation teams to control JE/Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) cases,” a senior health official said.
The National Health Mission (NHM) of Assam said in a statement that with the new cases, there are now a total of 98 cases of JE in the state since July 1.
Officials also said that last year at least 40 deaths due to JE were reported in the state.