A CHANGE IN EPIDEMIOLOGY OF JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS IN BANKURA AND PURULIA DISTRICTS OF WEST BENGAL

• Published in: Journal of evolution of medical and dental sciences Vol. 5; no. 78; pp. 5796 - 5798
• Main Authors: Das, Debalina, Sarkar, Rehena, Dey, Jayanta Bikash, Kundu, Syamal, Ghosh, Koushik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Akshantala Enterprises Private Limited 29.09.2016
• Subjects: Distribution; Forecasts and trends; Japanese encephalitis; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Public health administration; India
• ISSN: 2278-4748; 2278-4802
• DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2016/1308

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a leading cause of encephalitis in India including West Bengal. There is continued occurrence of sporadic cases and small outbreaks in Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal. Recent published data regarding the incidence of JE in this part of West Bengal is not available. We analysed the Japanese B encephalitis (JE) seropositive cases from various rural, urban and semiurban areas of the said districts. AIM OF STUDY To study the epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis in Bankura and Purulia district of West Bengal for the year 2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was done between January 2014 to December 2014. CSF and serum samples were collected from patients admitted with acute encephalitis syndrome from Paediatric and Medicine wards. The collected samples were analysed for JE specific IgM antibody by IgM antibody capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (MAC-ELISA) using kits from NIV (Pune). RESULTS During the study period, samples from 287 suspected patients were tested for JE out of which 29 (10%) were positive for IgM antibodies of which 16 (55%) were male and 13 (45%) were female. Of the 29 reactive cases, 13 (45%) were paediatric cases (<12 years) and 16 (55%) were adults. The number of seropositive cases referred from Bankura and Purulia were 13 (45%) and 16 (55%) respectively. The percentage of IgM positive JE was found to be high during the months of September and October. No death was reported in last year due to JE but 30% patients were discharged with sequelae. CONCLUSION Unlike other studies, the number of seropositive JE was more in adult population than paediatric population. It may be due to vaccination in 1-15 years age group. The continued occurrence of sporadic cases and small outbreaks during the monsoons can be due to the increased vector burden in the paddy fields in this region of West Bengal. No death was reported which indicates an improvement in the management of JE cases over time. KEYWORDS Japanese Encephalitis, Flavivirus, IgM MAC ELISA.