JE Outbreak | Mizoram, Tripura Take Precautionary Steps

Massive awareness drives have been planned by the Mizoram and the Tripura governments to prevent the entry of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus into the states.

A senior official of the Mizoram Health Department informed that the government has planned to screen visitors from Assam to prevent the entry of JE virus into the state.

"The steps are taken after JE killed 64 persons and infected over 200 others in Assam. No JE cases have been reported in Mizoram yet and we have taken these steps to prevent the entry of the virus into the state," the official said.

It may be mentioned here that Mizoram and Assam shares a 123-kilometer long porous border with each other.

"Mizoram is particularly vulnerable to JE as Culex, carrier of the disease, is the most populous mosquito species in the State. Steps will be taken to reduce their population," Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma, the State nodal officer of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), said.

The Culex mosquito species gets infected from pigs, birds and other animals, Lalmalsawma said.

Meanwhile, the Tripura Health department has also launched an awareness campaign on Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the State after the outbreak of the disease in Assam.

Health secretary Dr Debasish Basu said, "We have informed all the Chief Medical Officers of the districts to remain alert about the spread of JE after the disease affected some parts of Assam. We have also directed our officials to create awareness about it."

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of North Tripura district, Dr Jagdish Nama said on June 15 one patient was found infected with JE at Damcherra, a remote tribal hamlet in the district.

"We visited the patient's locality. We started awareness camps in the area and other adjacent areas. We have also alerted our staff in various primary health centers in our district to keep a close watch on the situation," he told reporters.