Japanese Encephalitis Death Toll Rises to 113 in Assam

Hailakandi, July 24, 2019:

With the sudden outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases in Hailakandi district, the district administration along with the health department has taken up a slew of measures to prevent further JE cases in the district.

Deputy Commissioner, Keerthi Jalli who is also the Chairman of District Health Society is monitoring the situation on a day-to-day basis. She asked all the field level workers, MPW, SW, MI, SI, vaccinators and laboratory technicians under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) together with Veterinary, Forest and Agriculture departments to step up field-level surveillance, detection of fever cases and immediate follow-up of any such cases.

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Fogging operations have been going on in 35 villages along with 49 ITBN camps. 17,555 mosquito nets have been impregnated in different villages across the district. Under NVBDCP, awareness meetings are being organized at the community level and through MPW, ANM, ASHA and SW at the village level.

"We have so far organized 145 numbers of awareness meetings where the general public are made aware of JE, its symptoms and where test can be done for any suspected cases," said District Media Expert, Monika Das, adding that the number of people coming for blood slide test has gone up at the SK Roy Civil Hospital.

JE tests are being conducted at the civil hospital, where people can go for tests free of cost instead of going to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

53,681 blood slide samples have been taken so far to check the spread of Japanese Encephalitis.

Moreover, IEC activities are being intensified at the grassroots level and teams have been formed at the village level with ASHA workers to reach out to the interior and vulnerable areas. "The Health Department in close coordination with the Veterinary Department is focusing on the inhabitants who live in and around the piggery farms. Meeting of the District Task Force is being held on a regular basis to monitor the situation and for adopting remedial measures," said Das.

The Health Department has already engaged different health functionaries and workers for detection of suspected fever cases, collection of blood slides samples and disseminating information on JE through different fora like the Village Health and Nutrition Day and Sash-Bahu Sammelan.

It is to be mentioned that eight cases of Japanese Encephalitis have been detected out of which three persons died.

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