Latest Encephalitis News: Health Minister urges MPs to act

Latest Encephalitis News: Health Minister urges MPs to act

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Monday urged MPs, particularly from districts affected by Japanese Encephalitis, to educate people to boil water before drinking and immunize their children. Replying to a debate in Lok Sabha on the spread of encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in eastern Uttar Pradesh and other areas of the country, he said there was a need to take preventive steps.

Harsh Vardhan said 85 percent of the cases were from five states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam. ‘Let us ensure no child dies prematurely. Every child’s death is preventable,’ he said. In 2014 alone, there have been 3,758 cases of AES from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam and as many as 687 deaths.

The numbers of Japanese Encephalitis cases in these four states this year was 651 with 113 deaths. The minister said one reason why India was finding it hard to eradicate Japanese Encephalitis was that its virus had many hosts. Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. It can be caused due to various pathogens including virus, bacteria ad protozoa.

While Japanese encephalitis is a vector borne disease transmitted by a group of mosquitoes called Culex vishnui, encephalitis can also be caused by entero viruses which are water borne.

What are risk factors of encephalitis?

Dr Abhijit Das, Director of Neurorehabilitation Program and consultant Neurologist, Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata says, ‘Anybody can suffer from encephalitis, from children to elderly.’ However, the risk is greater during the first few years of life. Additionally, people with a compromised immune system and those who have increased level of autoantibodies in them are at a greater risk.

Symptoms

The virus reaches the brain tissue and causes inflammation. It causes swelling of the brain tissue and can even destroy the neurons. Sometimes, brain hemorrhage or bleeding is also seen.

The following symptoms may occur:

    Headache
    Confusion
    Disorientation
    Stiffness in the neck and the back

Apart from these Dr Das highlights the following emergency symptoms of encephalitis.

    Altered consciousness
    Seizures
    Weakness in hand or legs
    There may be fever

Diagnosis of encephalitis

Emergency symptoms form the basis of suspecting encephalitis. But to diagnose its root cause, different tests might be needed. ‘Diagnosis involves a combination of clinical examination with the help of brain scans mainly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We also need electroencephalogram (EEG) along with the study of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained through a lumbar puncture,’ says Dr Das. Read more about Encephalitis – types, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention

With inputs from IANS