Epidemiological report on Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)/Japanese Encephalitis (JE) outbreak in Bihar & planning perspectives for its control

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is a major public health problem in Bihar claiming thousands of lives every year in Bihar. Initially, the disease outbreak was focused in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar but recent trend shows that disease outbreak has spread its foci in many other districts as well. AES cases were recorded from district reporting units comprising Govt Medical College & Hospitals and few private hospitals in prescribed format under Integrated Disease Surveillance Control Programme of the State. In 2014, till 17 th Oct, 928 cases and 314 deaths due to AES was reported in Bihar.JE cases among the AES cases constituted only 2% of the cases. Age group most affected was 0-4 and males were more affected than females. Case fatality rate in the AES outbreak was 34 and no deaths were reported due to JE. Outbreak peak was from 10 th June to 19 th June. The report overviews analytical comparison of yearly AES outbreak in Bihar based on descriptive epidemiological analysis. JE vaccination coverage in Bihar was also analyzed to co-relate its impact on curbing the AES cases. Although JE vaccination has reduced the incidence of JE cases but it has little impact on curbing AES cases. As the etiological confirmation of the disease outbreak has still not been established, better control strategies are required. Inter-sectoral coordination with various departments may also help in control and management of the disease outbreak.