Japanese Encephalitis Virus

MICROBIOLOGY

  • Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus similar to the St. Louis encephalitis virus, Zika, Murray Valley encephalitis, yellow fever, Dengue, and West Nile virus.[9]
  • JEV is a single-stranded, positive-sense, enveloped RNA virus transmitted by Culex mosquitoes in tropical and temperate areas.[8]
    • Wild birds are natural hosts, and domestic pigs, wading birds, and bats are amplifying hosts.
    • Blood transfusion and organ transplantation are potential modes of transmission.
  • JEV is endemic in Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands, causing about 70,000 cases of infection and 14,000-20,000 deaths per year worldwide.[16]
  • The recent detection of JEV in multiple commercial piggeries across four temperate southern Australian states led to a "Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance" declaration on March 4, 2022.
  • The risk of infection is estimated at 1/5000 per month of travel to rural areas of Asia where transmission occurs.
    • In temperate Asia, the incidence of cases peaks in summer and fall.
    • In the tropics or subtropics, transmission occurs in wet seasons but may occur year-round.
  • Emerging risk in southern Europe via C. pipiens with JEV sequences found in mosquitoes and birds in Italy.[10]

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Last updated: April 19, 2023