Japanese encephalitis, toll rise to 49 in Assam

State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed all districts except Kokrajhar are at present affected by the disease. Leave of all doctors and paramedical staff has been kept on hold with immediate effect till September 30.

With the number of deaths this year due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) increasing to 49 and number of positive cases reaching 190, Assam government on Saturday initiated several emergency measures to tackle the situation.

The state government, however, didn’t term the situation as alarming. (HT Photo)

State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed all districts except Kokrajhar are at present affected by the disease. Leave of all doctors and paramedical staff has been kept on hold with immediate effect till September 30.

The state government, however, didn’t term the situation as alarming. “On average, nearly 100 deaths due to JE are reported across the state. In 2015, the figure was as high as 135, but in 2017 it came down to 87 deaths,” Sarma said.

He informed that 12.8 lakh blood sample slides have been collected to test for the outbreak of JE-related fever and diagnostic kits provided to all district hospitals and medical colleges.

“The situation in the state is under close watch and all preventive measures are being taken,” said a statement issued by the government.