Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A campaign to vaccinate people against Japanese encephalitis will begin in Raisen and Vidisha districts soon, said deputy director, vector-borne diseases, Dr Himanshu Jayswar. Later, it will start in Bhopal and Indore. In the last five years, 186 cases of Japanese encephalitis were found in the state, he added.
Dr Himanshu was speaking at a media workshop on immunisation in the city on Tuesday. It was organised by State Routine Immunization Cell, National Health Mission and UNICEF India in association with WHO, UNDP, CHAI, JSI and JPHEIGO.
Minister Health and Family Welfare Dr Prabhuram Choudhary spoke on routine and Covid immunisation drive and called for media's support to disseminate information so that health department could reach out to children and parents. Anil Gulati, communication specialist, UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh, coordinated the event.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses, and is spread by mosquitoes. JEV is the main cause of viral encephalitis in many countries of Asia with over 68,000 clinical cases every year.
