Outbreaks and sporadic cases of japanese encephalitis in the state of Odisha, India: Outcome of 7 years of laboratory surveillance

• Main Authors: Jyotsnamayee Sabat (Author), Debdutta Bhattacharya (Author), Subhra Subhadra (Author), Yogesh K Gurav (Author), Satya Sundar Pati (Author), Bhagirathi Dwibedi (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 0019-557X; 10.4103/ijph.ijph_1294_22
• Keywords: acute encephalitis syndrome; japanese encephalitis; odisha; tribal; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Indian Journal of Public Health, Vol 67, Iss 2, Pp 324-327 (2023)

Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a major public health challenge in India. We report here the epidemiology of sporadics and outbreaks of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Odisha state during 2012-2018. A total of 4235 AES cases (sporadics - 3394, outbreak cases - 841) recorded including 42 outbreaks; majority (n = 18) of which were during 2016. Overall JE virus (JEV) positivity was 11.78% (outbreak cases - 24.5%, sporadic cases - 8.6%). Age ≤15 years were largely affected during outbreaks, while 16-60 years population was dominant among sporadics. The major outbreak (2016) involved 336 patients from a tribal dominated district, spread over 173 villages. JEV seropositivity was high (43.45%) with 28.57% mortality. Epidemiological linkage with pig rearing was documented through JEV neutralizing antibodies in 50% of pig serum samples. Although the postvaccination period (2017-18) showed increase in AES case reporting but low JE proportion. Ongoing surveillance and preparedness of the health system would be of importance, especially in tribal-dominated districts.