Japanese Encephalitis, AES claim 60 lives in Assam this year; nearly 500 AES cases reported

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) have claimed at least 60 lives in Assam since the beginning of the year, according to officials of the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam.

An NHM official said that 15 deaths have been attributed to Japanese Encephalitis, while 45 fatalities were linked to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome across various districts of the state between January and June this year.

The JE-related deaths were reported from Baksa, Cachar, Chirang, Kamrup Metropolitan, Tamulpur, Barpeta, Jorhat, Lakhimpur and Kamrup districts.

Meanwhile, AES fatalities have been recorded in Baksa, Cachar, Chirang, Goalpara, Morigaon, Sivasagar, Tamulpur, Udalguri, West Karbi Anglong, Darrang, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, South Salmara-Mankachar, Tinsukia, Charaideo, Kamrup Metropolitan, Barpeta, Jorhat, Kamrup and Lakhimpur districts.

According to official data, 56 people have tested positive for Japanese Encephalitis during the current season, while the number of AES cases has approached 500.

NHM Assam Executive Director Abhijit Sarma clarified that JE and AES are not identical diseases. “AES and JE are two different clinical entities. While JE is one of the causes of AES, not all AES cases are JE cases,” he said.

Sarma stated that the Assam government has initiated extensive preparedness measures ahead of the annual AES-JE season, which typically peaks between June and August.

He said that since February 2026, the state has implemented a series of interventions aimed at strengthening disease surveillance, case management, hospital preparedness, vaccination drives and inter-departmental coordination.

The NHM has also identified and trained nodal medical officers, deployed district coordinators, circulated standard operating procedures and treatment guidelines, strengthened referral systems, ensured the availability of essential medicines and expanded Japanese Encephalitis vaccination coverage across vulnerable areas.

Health authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant and seek immediate medical attention in cases of high fever, altered mental status, seizures or other symptoms associated with encephalitis, particularly during the monsoon season when the risk of transmission is higher.