The Hanoi Department of Health recorded a 12-year-old boy from Phuc Tho district as the first Japanese encephalitis patient in the city this year.
The baby started getting sick with symptoms of high fever and headache on June 16. A day later, the baby had a stiff neck and was unable to walk, so his family took him to the National Children’s Hospital. Mac-Elisa test results of the child’s cerebrospinal fluid showed positive for Japanese encephalitis virus.
The boy received 4 shots of Japanese encephalitis vaccine, with the last shot on June 15, 2019.
Japanese encephalitis is an acute blood-borne disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus. In Vietnam, Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes breed strongly in the summer (especially from March to July), becoming active at dusk. This mosquito species has a high density in the delta and midland areas, and is the main vector for transmitting Japanese encephalitis in our country.
The disease often causes encephalitis and meningitis in children, with a high mortality rate and sequelae (25-35%). Japanese encephalitis is often difficult to detect early because the initial symptoms are very similar to other infections. By the second or third day of the illness, symptoms gradually appear such as sudden high fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and lethargic and slow reactions.
The disease progresses very quickly, after 3 days or even one day the patient may have seizures, coma, have to be on a ventilator, and may die within 1-2 days. In addition, the disease also causes neurological sequelae later in life, causing the patient to lose the ability to communicate, reduce or lose the ability to work, and become a burden on family and society.
Vaccination is currently the best way to prevent Japanese encephalitis. The Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) recommends vaccination with 3 basic doses, including: Vaccination 1 as soon as possible after one year of age; The 2nd shot is 1-2 weeks after the 1st shot; dose 3 is one year after dose 2. After that, the vaccination is repeated every 3-4 years until the child turns 15 years old.