03-08-2025
- Health
- United News of India
Japanese Encephalitis reduced to single digit in UP, spread of AES also down
Lucknow, Aug 3 (UNI) Japanese Encephalitis, which was an epidemic in Purvanchal of Uttar Pradesh till 2017, has currently reduced to a single digit, according to UP health officials.
The spread of Acute Encephalitis (AES), another form of JE, has also reduced, they added.
Officials said due to the efforts being made by the government against the communicable diseases, Japanese Encephalitis is inching closer to eradication.
For the last more than five decades, this disease was synonymous with death in Purvanchal. Every year thousands of children died prematurely.
When Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over in 2017, he gave the eradication of the disease the form of a mass movement. For this, a coordination committee of 17 departments was formed by keeping the Health Department as the nodal agency.
The 17 departments included Urban and rural development, panchayati raj, education department, Jal Jeevan Mission and others.
Like every year, this time under the Communicable Disease Campaign which ran from July 1 to July 31 in the state, a cleanliness campaign along with awareness was run in JE and AES-affected districts of Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Deoria, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar, Azamgarh and Mau. The result is that the scope of this disease has further reduced.
According to state surveillance officer Dr Vikasendu Agarwal, this time from January till now, 137 cases of AES have been reported, but there has been no death. Last year 332 AES cases were reported. However, only 4 cases of JE have been reported this time. Last year, 18 such cases came to light.
Similarly, this time only one case of Kala Azar has been found in the state, whereas 827 cases of dengue have been detected. Last year this figure was 451. Similarly, this time 129 cases of Chikungunya have been reported, whereas last year, the figure was 128. This time 7,419 cases of malaria have been reported. Last year this figure was 3,013.
Regarding the increase in dengue cases, doctors say that it increases every third year. Therefore, there are chances of an uptick this time. Monsoon rain is also being cited as a reason behind malaria cases.
UNI MBD PRS
