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 Between 2010 and 2014, the number of annual cases rose from 154 to
744, with deaths rising from 41 to 160, according to data from the
Assam health department. The disease, which in 2009 was recorded in
only half of the state’s districts, now is seen in all of them.
Doctors say climate change has played a major role in the spread of
the disease, which once appear largely from May to July, but now is
seen as late in the year as November, as mosquitoes survive longer
in warmer conditions.
Japanese encephalitis is characterized by inflammation of the brain
and high fever.
"Now the temperature ... which is ideal for breeding of the Culex
mosquito is present almost until October or so, and as a result of
this the cases of the disease are increasing," said Rabindra Nath
Talukdar, a senior official of the Assam health department.
"Initially it was only an upper Assam disease ... but now it has
also been detected in lower Assam districts, and (now) cases have
been reported from all the 27 districts in Assam," Talukdar said.
MORE MOSQUITOES
Health department officials said changes in agricultural patterns
may be affecting the rise in encephalitis cases. Warmer conditions
have allowed farmers to grow more crops of rice each year, which
means rice paddies with standing water offer a breeding ground for
mosquitoes for a larger part of each year.
"The Culex mosquito breeds on water in the agricultural land, and
now since there is water on the field for several more months than
before, it gives more time and space for the mosquito to breed,"
Talukdar said.
Faced with a surge in Japanese encephalitis cases, the Assam
government has announced measures to tackle the problem, including
more careful monitoring of cases.
Assam Health Minister Nazrul Islam described the situation as "a
huge concern".
"I have asked the senior officials of the health department to
monitor the situation carefully and to report to me on a regular
basis," he said.
GROWING OUTCRY
Faced with a growing public outcry over the disease’s rapid spread,
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered officials of the Assam
health department to develop a plan to control the disease.
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Plans should include “setting up of an intensive care unit in each
district hospital for treatment of emergency cases, along with
laboratory testing units,” Gogoi said.
As well, “I have already asked the health department to procure
laboratory testing kits for quick diagnosis of the disease, adequate
vaccines and medicines for the hospitals, and also to carry out
intensive fogging in the affected areas,” he said.
Civil society groups and activists have however questioned why such
steps were not taken earlier.
"The data from the state health department itself shows that the
disease has taken a deadly turn over the years in the state.
Unfortunately the state machinery waited for the disease to go out
of control, whereas it should have taken steps to control the
disease much earlier," said Sankar Prasad Rai, of the All Assam
Students Union (AASU).
Several influential student groups of the state, including the All
Assam Students Union and the Assam Jatiyatibadi Yuva Chatra Parishad
(AJYCP), have staged protests over the government's failure to
control the spread of Japanese encephalitis.
(Reporting by Amarjyoti Borah; editing by Laurie Goering)
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