Japanese Encephalitis is a deadly disease. The inflammation starts in the brain, affecting the central nervous system. It is spread by Culex mosquitoes and needs emergency treatment, said Dr Subhash Mishra, Director (Epidemic), Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday.
Mishra said the Culex mosquito tends to attack with the start of the rainy season. It is not a contagious fever.
Often the disease is not recognized because all the symptoms are found in most types of fever. Stiffness in the neck, weakness and nervousness when fever comes along are its initial symptoms, he said.
After the bite, symptoms of the disease are observed between 5 to 15 days in a victim of infection, which is called ‘incubation period’. It has been found the disease spreads at a higher rate in August, September and October.
Prominently, it affects children between the age of 1 to 14 years. The elderly people are most at risk, he pointed out.
Japanese fever is more common in rural areas where paddy cultivation is more. The ‘flavi viruses’ thrive in paddy fields. It can be prevented when all children between the age of 1 and 14 years are vaccinated.
Children should be dressed in full sleeves before evening, said Mishra.