As the encephalitis outbreak claimed lives of more than 250 people in West Bengal, experts here on Friday rued the lack of timely reporting and diagnosis of patients for the high death rate.
Talking at a seminar, senior scientist Shyamalendu Chatterjee of the Indian Council of Medical Research said doctors delayed reporting cases of encephalitis which in turn delayed the treatment procedure.
“Doctors send us incomplete information of patients along with their samples for examination. If we do not have complete information of a patient, it is difficult for us to determine what tests should be run which delays the treatment procedure,” Professor Chatterjee said.
While most of the patients were diagnosed with acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), many died from Japanese encephalitis (JE), a variant of encephalitis.
B.R. Sathpathi, director of Health Services told The Hindu that during the year, 258 deaths due to AES and JE have been reported in the State. Out of 258 AES deaths, 46 deaths were due to JE.
JE is a paediatric disease, but adults were mostly affected in the outbreak in July in north Bengal.
“Clinically, it is difficult to differentiate between AES and JE. ,” director of the School of Tropical Medicine Nandita Basu said.
Calling for a standardised vaccination to treat encephalitis, experts said many countries had successfully kept the disease at bay by administering vaccines. The vector-borne disease is mostly a rural occurrence as the mosquitoes breed in paddy fields. “While it is essential to spray paddy fields with insecticides, it also important to keep a close watch as mosquitoes become resistant to the chemicals,” Ms. Basu said.
