The epidemiological and neurological risk factors of Japanese encephalitis virus in the population of Assam, Northeast India

Namrata Kumari; Subhash Medhi; Anjan Jyoti Talukdar; Manab Deka; Priyanka Kashyap; Manash Jyoti Kalita; Simanta Kalita

doi:10.18006/2022.10(6).1366.1375

Authors

Namrata Kumari Bioengineering and Technology Department, Gauhati University India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0336-8102
Subhash Medhi Bioengineering and Technology Department, Gauhati University India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2733-8293
Anjan Jyoti Talukdar Department of Medicine, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8547-4595
Manab Deka Bioengineering and Technology Department, Gauhati University India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4261-0512
Priyanka Kashyap University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3871-5848
Manash Jyoti Kalita Bioengineering and Technology Department, Gauhati University India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3191-588X
Simanta Kalita Bioengineering and Technology Department, Gauhati University India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2763-4965

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18006/2022.10(6).1366.1375

Keywords:

CSF, Epidemiology, Japanese Encephalitis, Vector, Assam

Abstract

Japanese encephalitis is one of the world's most common public health issues, particularly it is prevalent in the north-eastern Indian states of Assam. This study aimed to find out the risk factors linked to clinical and epidemiological characteristics. A total of 245 cases were found as PCR-positive in Assam. The most common clinical symptoms were fever (87%), seizure (65%), altered sensorium (60%), cold with shivering (74%), vomiting (68%), throat irritation (31%), cough (67%), chest pain (10%), joint pain (18%), mouth ulcer (18%), diarrhea (29%), pain in the abdomen (42.9%), runny nose (64%), redness in eyes (78%), jaundice (25%), and blood in the sputum (25%). Further, the neurological symptoms included vision problems (66.5%), hearing difficulties (55 %), neck stiffness (62%), limb numbness (65%), dizziness (77%), headaches (75.5%), speaking difficulties (63%), hydrophobia (47%), and abnormal behavior (66%). The epidemiological risk factors included contact with pigs (57%), bats (21%), cattle (32%), and rates (66%). In addition, 24.5% of patients observed the death of animals/birds. The protection measure included window screening, sleeping under a mosquito net, and use of insect repellent while sleeping in open compounds (29%) and floods (63%) are considered important risk factors. JE-positive cases include daily habits like working in agriculture fields (28%), in standing water (16%), swimming in nearby lakes (24%), traveling outside their village (40%), and wearing shirts while working in the field (20%), storing water in open containers in or outside the house (62%). These were the epidemiological factors that affected the abundance of the potential mosquito vectors of the JE infection.

References

Arunachalam, N., Samuel, P. P., Hiriyan, J., Thenmozhi, V., & Gajanana, A. (2004). Japanese encephalitis in Kerala, south India: can Mansonia (Diptera: Culicidae) play a supplemental role in transmission?. Journal of medical entomology, 41(3), 456–461. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585-41.3.456 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585-41.3.456

Ashraf, U., Ding, Z., Deng, S., Ye, J., Cao, S., & Chen, Z. (2021). Pathogenicity and virulence of Japanese encephalitis virus: Neuroinflammation and neuronal cell damage. Virulence, 12(1), 968–980. https://doi.org/10.1080/21505594.2021.1899674. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21505594.2021.1899674

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013). Japanese encephalitis surveillance and immunization-Asia and the Western Pacific, 2012. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 62 (33), 658–662.

Dwibedi, B., Mohapatra, N., Rathore, S. K., Panda, M., et al. (2015). An outbreak of Japanese encephalitis after two decades in Odisha, India. The Indian journal of medical research, 142 (Suppl 1), S30–S32. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-5916.176609 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-5916.176609

Furuya-Kanamori, L., Gyawali, N., Mills, D. J., Hugo, L. E., Devine, G. J., & Lau, C. L. (2022). The Emergence of Japanese Encephalitis in Australia and the Implications for a Vaccination Strategy. Tropical medicine and infectious disease, 7(6), 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7060085 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7060085

Gajanana, A., Thenmozhi, V., Samuel, P. P., & Reuben, R. (1995). A community-based study of subclinical flavivirus infections in children in an area of Tamil Nadu, India, where Japanese encephalitis is endemic. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 73(2), 237–244.

Ghosh, D., & Basu, A. (2009). Japanese encephalitis-a pathological and clinical perspective. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 3(9), e437. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000437 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000437

Habib, M., Rahman, A.U., & Hussain, A. (2022). Japanese encephalitis virus. In R. Z. Abbas, A. Khan, P. Liu & M. K. Saleemi (eds), Animal Health Perspectives Vol. 2 (pp 126-130), Faisalabad, Pakistan, Unique Scientific Publishers, . https://doi.org/10.47278/book.ahp/2022.51 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47278/book.ahp/2022.51

Henriksson, E., Söderberg, R., StrömHallenberg, G., Kroesna, K., et al. (2021). Japanese Encephalitis in Small-Scale Pig Farming in Rural Cambodia: Pig Seroprevalence and Farmer Awareness. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 10(5), 578. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10050578 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10050578

Hills, S. L., Griggs, A. C., & Fischer, M. (2010). Japanese encephalitis in travellers from non-endemic countries, 1973-2008. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 82(5), 930–936. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0676 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0676

Kanojia, P. C., Shetty, P. S., & Geevarghese, G. (2003). A long-term study on vector abundance & seasonal prevalence in relation to the occurrence of Japanese encephalitis in Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The Indian journal of medical research, 117, 104–110.

Karabatsos. (1985). International catalogue of arboviruses : including certain other viruses of vertebrates (3rd ed.). Published for the Subcommittee on Information Exchange of the American Committee on Arthropod-borne Viruses by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Kumar, S., Verma, A., Yadav, P., Dubey, S. K., et al. (2022). Molecular pathogenesis of Japanese encephalitis and possible therapeutic strategies. Archives of virology, 1–24.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05481-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05481-z

Ladreyt, H., Durand, B., Dussart, P., & Chevalier, V. (2019). How Central Is the Domestic Pig in the Epidemiological Cycle of Japanese Encephalitis Virus? A Review of Scientific Evidence and Implications for Disease Control. Viruses, 11(10), 949. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v11100949

Li, X., Cui, S., Gao, X., Wang, H., et al. (2016). The Spatio-temporal Distribution of Japanese Encephalitis Cases in Different Age Groups in Mainland China, 2004 - 2014. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 10(4), e0004611. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pntd.0004611 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004611

Mileno M. D. (2020). Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine. Rhode Island medical journal, 103(6), 49–50.

Parida, M. M., Santhosh, S. R., Dash, P. K., Tripathi, N. K., et al. (2006). Development and evaluation of reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for rapid and real-time detection of Japanese encephalitis virus. Journal of clinical microbiology, 44(11), 4172–4178. https://doi.org/10.1128/ JCM.01487-06 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01487-06

Patgiri, S. J., Borthakur, A. K., Borkakoty, B., Saikia, L., Dutta, R., & Phukan, S. K. (2014). An appraisal of clinicopathological parameters in Japanese encephalitis and changing epidemiological trends in upper Assam, India. Indian journal of pathology & microbiology, 57(3), 400–406. https://doi.org/10.4103/0377-4929.138732 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0377-4929.138732

Roberts, A., & Gandhi, S. (2020). Japanese encephalitis virus: a review on emerging diagnostic techniques. Frontiers in bioscience (Landmark edition), 25(10), 1875–1893. https://doi.org/10.2741/ 4882 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2741/4882

Sen Gupta, S. N., Sen, M. K., Das, P. K., Bhattacharya, D. P., & Rath, B. B. (1976). Clinical profile of the epidemic of Japanese

encephalitis at Bankura. The Indian journal of medical research, 64(10), 1393–1402.

Simon, L.V., Sandhu, D.S., Goyal, A., et al. (2022). Japanese Encephalitis. [Updated 2022 May 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan.

Solomon T. (2006). Control of Japanese encephalitis--within our grasp?. The New England journal of medicine, 355(9), 869–871. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp058263 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp058263

Solomon, T., Ni, H., Beasley, D. W., Ekkelenkamp, M., Cardosa, M. J., & Barrett, A. D. (2003). Origin and evolution of Japanese encephalitis virus in southeast Asia. Journal of virology, 77(5), 3091–3098. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.77.5.3091-3098.2003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.77.5.3091-3098.2003

Xiong, J., Yan, M., Zhu, S., Zheng, B., Wei, N., Yang, L., Si, Y., Cao, S., & Ye, J. (2022). Increased Cleavage of Japanese Encephalitis Virus prM Protein Promotes Viral Replication but Attenuates Virulence. Microbiology spectrum, 10(3), e0141722. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01417-22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01417-22

Xu, C., Zhang, W., Pan, Y., Wang, G., et al. (2022). A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research on Japanese Encephalitis From 1934 to 2020. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 12, 833701. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fcimb.2022.833701 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.833701