Assam sees surge in Japanese Encephalitis cases

Guwahati: Assam has been witnessing a surge in Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases in the past few months, said officials here on Friday.

Since April 1 this year, the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) admitted 90 patients suffering from the deadly flavivirus. Of these 22 patients succumbed to the virus.

The number of JE patients this year has increased significantly. In 2023, a total of 54 people were admitted to the hospital, according to Dr Abhijit Sarma, Superintendent of GMCH.

“At the moment, 40 patients are receiving care at GMCH; four of them are critically ill, while the other patients are stable. Sadly, 22 patients passed away --many of them were brought to us when their condition had worsened,” Dr Sarma told IANS on Friday.

He said that several patients were moved to the GMCH for tertiary care after first getting admitted to the private hospitals. And, when they arrived, their condition had already gravely deteriorated.

These patients' Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores were startlingly low; some of them scored as low as 3/15, which denotes a serious impairment of consciousness. This had a role in the increased death rate that was noted this year, the doctor said.

Additionally, Dr Sarma emphasised the difficulties in treating Japanese Encephalitis, pointing out that no medication can treat the infection.

“Japanese Encephalitis is always treated with symptoms. Patients who have a fever are prescribed fever-reducing medicine. They receive treatment if they are having convulsions. Moreover, injections such as Mannitol are used to relieve symptoms. Twenty-three people have recovered thus far,” he said.

The senior health professional also urged people to reach the hospital after the immediate onset of symptoms like high fever, disorientation, low consciousness, convulsion, etc.