Based on a report prepared by DPHO, 29 victims of the disease were found in the district in the last two years, the highest infection rate in the nation.[break]
“The infection rate for Japanese encephalitis is high in Dang and the government has also acknowledged this fact,” said chief of DPHO Kesab Raj Pandit. Kailai is next to Dang among the most infection-prone districts, informed Pandit.
In past years, many have died of the disease in Dang but no records have been kept, said Pandit.
The disease is transmitted by the female mosquito, which is the main host, and the mosquitos are found in areas of stale water and dirt.
“We have found infection cases mostly at Deukhiri and in the western part of the district,” said Pandit.
According of a government survey, 236 people have died of the disease across the nation from 2004 to 2011 and most of the infections have been found among children between 1 and 10. “But everyone is vulnerable,” Pandit added.
Some seven years after the last vaccination campaign launched in both Dang and Kailali districts, a follow-up program aimed at total eradication of the disease will start the first week of May, informed Pandit. “The vaccination campaign will start in both districts at the same time and we plan to divide the campaign in two phases,” he further said.
According to district health workers, this year the target is to vaccinate some 112,181 children in both districts.
“We have already recruited 110 trained health workers and 1,004 women health workers for the vaccination campaign,” Pandit said.
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