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Medical Science Notes On – Japanese Encephalitis – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
মেডিকেল সায়েন্স নোট – জাপানি এনসেফালাইটিস – WBCS পরীক্ষা।
Japanese encephalitis is a neurologic infection with a broad range of manifestations. It can range from subtle changes in behavior to serious problems, including blindness, ataxia, weakness, and movement disorders. Japanese encephalitis is caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a flavivirus, and is closely related to St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile encephalitis.Continue Reading Medical Science Notes On – Japanese Encephalitis – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
It occurs primarily in rural areas of Asia (see the image below). Japanese encephalitis is spread through these regions by bites of culicine mosquitoes, most often Culex tritaeniorhynchus.
Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable encephalitis in Asia and the western Pacific. For most travelers to Asia, the risk for JE is very low but varies based on destination, length of travel, season, and activities. Most people infected with JE do not have symptoms or have only mild symptoms. However, a small percentage of infected people develop inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), with symptoms including sudden onset of headache, high fever, disorientation, coma, tremors and convulsions. About 1 in 4 cases are fatal. To prevent getting sick from JE, use an EPA-registered insect repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and get vaccinated.
Japanese encephalitis is a virus in the flavivirus family. The Culex mosquito passes it on.
The virus can infect horses and pigs, as well as humans. This can lead to encephalitis in horses and miscarriage in pigs.
A host is the source of a virus, and the vector passes it on. Wild birds are likely to be the natural hosts of JEV, and mosquitoes are the vectors. A vector does not cause disease but passes it on.
When mosquitoes infect an animal, the animal might become a carrier of the virus. When other mosquitos feed on these animals that have newly acquired the virus, they take it on board and infect other animals.
People are at the highest risk in rural areas where the virus is common. Japanese encephalitis is common around towns and cities.
It is more likely to affect children because adults in areas where the virus is endemic generally become immune as they get older.
Where is it most common?
Japanese encephalitis is most commonTrusted Source throughout Southeast Asia.
There have been cases in northern Australia, but health authorities in mainland Australia consider the disease to be low-risk.
The United States has seen a few reports of Japanese encephalitis in people who have traveled to places in which the disease is active.
Overall, the chance of catching Japanese encephalitis while traveling in Asia is extremely low. However, it depends on the season, the travel destination, the duration of stay, and which activities a traveler in Asia would be doing.
The risk is highest during the transmission season, but this varies from place to place in the following ways:
- In temperate regions, transmission is highest during the summer and early fall, between roughly May and September.
- In subtropical and tropical areas, the season depends on the rainfall and patterns of bird migrations.
- In some tropical areas, transmission might occur at any time of the year, depending partly on agricultural practices.
- It is more common in areas where people grow rice.
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