Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a zoonotic mosquito-borne viral disease that primarily affects young children under the age of 15[1]. Annually, there are more than 50 000 clinical cases and JE causes over 10 000 fatalities globally[1]. In Japan, South Korea, China and Thailand, where it is now under control or almost entirely eradicated, the disease was initially noted to have a high incidence[1]. Later, it expanded to Nepal and India, becoming a serious public health issue in rural regions[1]. JE is a flavivirus-based neglected tropical disease that is spread by culicine mosquitoes of the Culex ( Cx.) tritaeniorhynchus and Cx. vishnui species[2]. It causes severe neurological symptoms that can occasionally be fatal. Another morbid consequence of this viral illness is chronic neurologic sequelae in the form of long-term impairment[3]. Pigs are considered as amplifying hosts and play a significant part in the general epidemiology of the disease, whereas humans are a dead-end host. Only three of the five genotypes that are known to be present in the global population are found to be common in India[3]. While JE is endemic in many areas of India, including Bihar, Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and other regions, the eastern section of Uttar Pradesh is the region that is most severely afflicted, and children under the age of 15 are the main victims[3]. The Government of India and the Uttar Pradesh State Government's multifaceted approach, which includes vector control measures, strengthened surveillance programmes, JE immunisation campaigns in children, behavioural change and community-based awareness programmes, may have helped to significantly reduce JE cases in the last 10 years, after which incidence decreased to 0.07 in 2019[4]. In spite of the numerous control efforts outlined above, sporadic JE cases frequently appear in the eastern Uttar Pradesh region. Improved targeting of interventions will result from changes to the current strategies, which will help the JE curve continue to shorten. The natural transmission cycle of JE virus includes JE virus, mosquito vector, reservoir host pigs and birds and dead-end host human[3]. There is no human-to-human transmission of JE and current interventions are targeted to protect human from getting JE. Reservoir host and mosquito vectors play an important role in transmission of JE to newer areas. Increase in vector density is associated with agricultural practices in rural regions including paddy fields and irrigated crops[3]. In the current article, we are discussing the JE control strategies further needed to reduce the JE cases in eastern Uttar Pradesh to zero incidence by interrupting its natural cycle.
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