Research findings on Encephalitis

Why in news?

A research paper on epidemic Encephalitis has been realised.

What is Encephalitis?

• It is inflammatory brain disease which can cause severe headache and confusion.
• The majority of cases are caused by either a viral infection or the immune system mistakenly attacking brain tissue.
• Mild cases may cause no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms. Severe cases can be life-threatening.
• Immediate medical attention is required for symptoms such as confusion, hallucinations, seizures, weakness and loss of sensation.
• It can be spread by animal or insect bites or stings.

What is the account of this disease in India?

• In India Japanese encephalitis (JE) is most prevalent, it caused by JE virus spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes.
• It's more common in rural and agricultural areas which causes serious brain swelling with a sudden headache, high fever and disorientation.
• Indian public health diagnostic machinery has built around this illness and a vaccine was also introduced.
• This disease is being prevalent in U.P.’s Gorakhpur district for past three decades.

Why the disease is epidemic in few parts of India?

• The recent research paper finds an unexpected cause of encephalitis which is recurring for several years in in Malkangiri district of Odisha.
• Researchers finds out it was likely due to the consumption of a wild bean, called Bada Chakunda, which grows freely in the region.
• Several natural toxins had caused fatal dysfunction of the liver, heart and brain in underfed children.
• Even in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, the encephalitis outbreak was traced to this bean.

• There are also epidemics in Bihar’s Muzaffarpurdistrict which were linked to lychee consumption, again among emaciated children.
• In all these cases, the suspicion of JE, though the epidemiology and symptoms didn’t match, which delayed the discovery of the cause.

What are the concerns the report had pointed out?

• As JE vaccination rates have grown, incidence has shrunk, and a host of other causes of encephalitis, like dengue, scrub typhus, and other disease have emerged to the forefront.
• Yet investigating agencies such as the National Centre for Disease Control and the National Institute of Virology have persisted in focussing on JE.
• There is a problem of archaic format in which encephalitis is reported to the government.
• Under this format, if an encephalitis case cannot be confirmed as JE, doctors tag it as Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).
• But AES is no diagnosis, just a temporary label for different unnamed diseases.
• Thus doctors by them don’t have a clear understanding about the disease due to narrow minded observation.

Source: The Hindu