The health department on Thursday issued an alert after detection of three Japanese Encephalitis (JE) positive cases at the health centres in East Singhbhum district in the last 24 hours.
With the onset of the monsoon, water-borne diseases are on the rise in the city. JE is a disease caused by a flavivirus. It is transmitted by mosquitoes and, in humans causes inflammation of the membranes around the brain.
Sources at MGM Medical College and Hospital informed that patients with symptoms of high fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, seizures, spastic paralysis are being examined.
The alert has been issued by the office of the district civil surgeon Vibha Sharan following suggestion by the district unit of Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP).
The aim is to spread the word of caution to all the 30 private and government hospitals in the district, asking them to monitor patients with symptoms and file reports 24x7.
Officials said that one confirmed case each of Japanese Encephalitis has been reported from Tata Main Hospital (Bistupur), MGM Medical College and Hospital (Sakchi) and Mercy Hospital (Baridih) in the last 24 hours which has prompted the health alert.
“Awareness is the best medicine to prevent the spread of any form of viral infection and we urge upon the people to practice, among other things, storing water scientifically in their respective places,” said an official of the malaria department.
According to Nirmal Kumar, head medicine department at MGM Medical College and Hospital, the JE caused by flavivirus is carried by the Culex mosquito, and affects the membranes around the brain.
From district health department records, in the year 2010, over 10,000 viral cases were reported in the district in the monsoon period while there were four deaths due to dengue. The figure rose to 15,000 in 2011, mostly from chikungunya and dengue, with one death due to dengue.
In 2012, the number of viral cases came down to 7,000 during the monsoon period. There were eight deaths from cerebral malaria. There were 22 cases of dengue and two Japanese Encephalitis cases in the same year though no death was reported in either of the cases. In 2013, 18 cases of JE were reported.