Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 18
One Japanese Encephalitis (JE) related death has been reported from Dimapur this year. The date of death could not be officially ascertained but a state Health Department official quoting doctors at a hospital in Dimapur said that the death was reported 3 days back.
The fatality was out of 9 positive cases detected this month. Dr. Temsula, Programme Officer of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Nagaland, told The Morung Express that 18 suspected blood samples were tested for JE at the Sentinel Surveillance Site Lab (SSSL), Dimapur District Hospital this month, out of which 9 tested positive.
Three of the patients, who tested positive, were said to be from towns in Assam neighboring Dimapur. Five were from Dimapur and one from a village in Mokokchung district.
The positive cases reported from Dimapur were mostly from the Municipal area.
All 9 patients were initially admitted to different hospitals in Dimapur.
“This is the transmission season (monsoon), we are also on alert,” said Dr. Temsula, while adding NVBDCP branches in the districts have been alerted to take up control measures.
In Dimapur, she informed that the district Entomological team has been directed to survey and identify vulnerable places, while adding that a team from NVBDCP, Mokokchung was on the move to Longchemdang village, from where one of the positive cases originated.
She said that the report of the Entomological teams will be crucial in identifying vulnerable areas to take up control measures.
Meanwhile, she added that a few localities have been identified in Dimapur where fogging will be conducted from July 19. Forest colony, Supply colony, Nepali Basti, Industrial Estate, 7th Mile and Chumoükedima are the areas where the fogging operations will initially occur.
Number of positive JE cases detected and fatalities in Nagaland in 2018 could not be obtained but around 10 cases were said to have been reported in 2017.
The JE virus is said to attack the central nervous system and there is no known cure, except prevention. She called for public cooperation to prevent the virus from spreading. Keeping the surrounding clean, not letting stagnant water to accumulate, using protective nets and repellents are among the preventive steps individuals can adopt.
According to a NVBDCP public awareness handout about JE, “Pigs play an important role in JE, as JE virus multiplies in pigs without suffering from disease and maintain the virus for a long time.”
As such, keeping piggeries far from human habitats is said to be crucial and backyard piggery by households, especially in congested urban areas must be discouraged or stopped.
No Dengue case reported
Meanwhile, the state, Dimapur in particular, has not reported any Dengue positive cases so far this year. Around 367 positive Dengue cases were recorded in 2018 with the first case detected and reported officially in the month of July.
In 2017, the total positive Dengue cases detected were 358 out of 1309 suspected samples screened.
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