The two states that have been affected the most by this illness include Uttar Pradesh and Assam. While Uttar Pradesh has recorded 425 AES/JE cases and 74 deaths, Assam has recorded 146 AES/JE cases and 29 deaths.
This has alarmed most of the medical experts and they are concerned with the increasing number of these cases. The season of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) has still not arrived and this has caused further alarms in the medical community.
The high number of cases of this disease has prompted UNICEF to raise questions about the vaccination campaigns carried out in the worst affected states like UP, Assam and West Bengal.
UNICEF is seriously questioning the vaccination claims made by the UP Government in the districts of Gorakhpur and Bahraich. While, the state Government claims that 97% and 100.2% vaccination rats have been achieved in these states, UNICEF stressed that they may be only around 52.3% and 50.5%, respectively.
This has prompted a team from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to visit Gorakhpur to throw light on the situation.
The Union Government has also ordered a revaccination JE campaign in the seven districts in eastern UP that have been severely affected by this disease.