Japanese Encephalitis claims three in Nawalparasi

Nawalparasi, Sept 8: Three people succumbed to Japanese Encephalitis in the district of Nawalparasi (Bardhaghat Sustapaschim).

The Acting Chief of the District Health Office, Bheshraj Sharma, said a 74-year-old man from Bardaghat Municipality-12, a 62-year-old man from Sarabal Rural Municipality-1 and a man of 50 years from Pratappur Rural Municipality-1 died of Japanese Encephalitis while receiving treatment. Likewise, the district reported nine cases of dengue fever in this season.

The officials have warned that the dengue cases could rise sharply in the district. The three deaths were reported in the past one and a half months. All three men who died of Japanese Encephalitis had not received the vaccine against its infection. Meanwhile, the local government and officials have worked to search for and destroy mosquitoes in view of rising cases of these two diseases.

Japanese Encephalitis is a transmissible disease caused by the bite of an infected Culex mosquito. This mosquito, medium-sized and brown with white markings on its abdomen, is active primarily after sunset and during the night. Its primary breeding grounds are stagnant water in paddy fields. The risk of infection is the highest during the monsoon season.