The first outbreak of Japanese encephalitis (JE) was in Tokyo, Japan in 1871. Very similar to today, the major cause of this outbreak was because of the transmission of the disease through mosquitoes (5). During this time, there were not many precautionary actions people could take to prevent exposure to the disease. Since 1871, JE has seen several outbreaks occur approximately every 10 years (5) but those outbreaks have occurred less frequently in recent years.
Keeping track of Japanese encephalitis has proven to be extremely difficult. Over the past 50 years, Japanese encephalitis has spread to more areas in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Unfortunately these areas don’t report incidences or monitor JE in a consistent manner and it makes available information about the disease very incomplete (5). According to the Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy, the spread of JE to other areas in Southeast Asia are a result of “bird migration, irrigation projects, animal smuggling, global warming, and changes with rice plantations” (5).
With current reporting procedures, transmission rates in endemic countries is approximately 5-50 cases per 100,000 children per year (9). Infection rates for travelers from non-endemic areas visiting endemic areas for short amounts of time is approximately <1 case per 1 million travelers (9).
Keeping track of Japanese encephalitis has proven to be extremely difficult. Over the past 50 years, Japanese encephalitis has spread to more areas in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Unfortunately these areas don’t report incidences or monitor JE in a consistent manner and it makes available information about the disease very incomplete (5). According to the Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy, the spread of JE to other areas in Southeast Asia are a result of “bird migration, irrigation projects, animal smuggling, global warming, and changes with rice plantations” (5).
With current reporting procedures, transmission rates in endemic countries is approximately 5-50 cases per 100,000 children per year (9). Infection rates for travelers from non-endemic areas visiting endemic areas for short amounts of time is approximately <1 case per 1 million travelers (9).
Image from: http://www.welltechfoundation.org/japanese-encephalitis.php
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