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2 new JE cases reported in Jorhat

By CORRESPONDENT

JORHAT, July 30 � Doctors have confirmed two new cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the Madhapur area of Titabor and the Pokamura area of Jorhat town on Wednesday. Both the patients were referred to the Assam Medical College Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh for better treatment.

�With the addition of the two new patients, the district has so far registered 18 patients infected by the disease this year,� said Dr Sarat Das, Joint Director of Health Services, Jorhat. Three among the infected patients died last week, while 14 others were released from the hospitals, he added.

Besides Pokamura and Madhapur, the other affected areas of the district have been identified as the Dihingia Tea Estate, Kartik Chapori in Majuli and the Salmora area in south-western Jorhat.

The Health Department�s data reveal that the district witnessed the death of 17 out of 63 infected patients in 2013. As the virus of this fatal disease is transmitted by mosquitos belonging to the Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex vishnui groups, which particularly breed in flooded paddy fields and drains, doctors have advised people to take preventive measures by fogging and cleaning residential areas.

�These mosquitos are carried by pigs and egrets. Besides using mosquito nets at night, piggeries should also be covered with nets to prevent the disease,� said a Health official.

Though fogging has been prescribed as an effective method of prevention of JE, only three fogging machines are available here, which is clearly not adequate to cover the town and other affected areas of the district.

Doctors also urged the people to follow the Health Department�s suggestions being published through advertisement in newspapers and broadcast on television channels.

As vaccination has proved to be result-oriented, officials have been conducting vaccination drives among the people who were left out in the earlier phases.

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