AFTER malaria, it is the turn of Japanese
encephalitis. Alapuzha and Kottayam
districts of Kerala are in severe grip of
encephalitis where it has already
claimed 3G lives. Though the situation is
serious, the local doctors have failed to
tackle it.
The virus which- spreads through
mosquitoes, can be eliminated only by
the body's immune system. A person
suffers from high fever, convulsions and
coma after being bitten by an infected
mosquito. The survival rate of patients
in traditionally prone areas is nine out
of 10, whereas, in new areas, only five
out of 10 are known to survive. India is
yet to test a vaccine which is believed to
be effective. The disease first broke out
in epidemic proportions in parts of
north and central India in the '90s.
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