OneWorld.net (U.S.)

An online encephalitis prevention network has been set up in Asia to help health officials fight Japanese encephalitis (JE), as outbreaks of the deadly disease rage through northern India and Nepal. In the past month, more than 350 people, mostly children, have fallen victim to the mosquito-borne virus in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Around 140 people have died in Nepal since it spread to that country from the neighbouring state 10 days ago.

On August 30, the international non-profit organisation Programme for Applied Technology in Health (PATH) launched the Japanese Encephalitis Prevention Network (JEPN) to disseminate information on JE, to counter the threat of the disease that infects around 50,000 people, mostly children, in Asia each year.

The network will act as an Internet portal, allowing health officials across the region to share information about the disease, new outbreaks and efforts to control outbreaks. The website, which will be available to 18 Asian nations and other interested partners, like the World Health Organisation, working to control JE will provide news on the latest research on preventing, diagnosing and treating the disease. The site uses maps, graphs and verbal reports to track the disease in countries and in the region as a whole.

Policymakers and public health officials in the affected region often lack access to such information. "The new network offers a platform to share information about the disease both within countries and across countries in Asia," says Julie Jacobson, director of PATH's Japanese Encephalitis Project. "We hope that the information collected from the field will help countries to share their experience of how to control the disease in diverse settings in Asia."

Source: From Infochange News and Features