1SRM College of Pharmacy, Kattankulathur, Kancheepuram-603203.
2Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Shollinganallur, Chennai-600119.
Abstracts of the papers presented at the 16th Annual Convention and International Symposium of Indian Virological Society on “Management of Vector-Borne Viruses” at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru-502324, Hyderabad, India, February 7–10, 2006.
Encephalitis is a general name for swelling of the brain. Japanese encephalitis (JE) is caused by the JE virus (JEV), an arbovirus. The JEV has a complex life cycle involving domestic pigs and a specific type of mosquito, Culex tritaeniorhynchus. JEV can affect the central nervous system and cause severe complications and even death. There is no specific treatment for JE. What makes JE difficult to control is the fact that it is transmitted by mosquitoes from animals like pigs and wild birds. It cannot spread through infected people, as humans are a dead-end host. Efforts to control JE are hampered by the lack of a safe, effective and affordable vaccine that can be integrated into routine immunization programmes. There is also no commercially available low-cost diagnostic test for the disease. As on 24 October 2005, a total of 5347 cases of suspect JE with 1180 deaths were reported in Uttar Pradesh State. The JE vaccine currently available costs anywhere between Rs 396 to 660 for the three doses required to fully immunizing a child. The cost of vaccinating Uttar Pradesh 7 million children would amount to Rs 2.5 billion – almost twice the entire health budget of the state. An additional problem is the immunization schedule, which is difficult to integrate into routine immunization programmes. To successfully control JE, we need an affordable, safe and easily administrable vaccine and human resources to develop and implement sustainable prevention programs.
