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Endemic Japanese Encephalitis in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is endemic in the Terai region of Nepal. There is little information on the occurrence of JE outside the Terai and particularly in the densely populated Kathmandu valley. Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) cases were detected using a sentinel surveillance system that has been functioning since 2004. JE was confirmed using anti-JE IgM ELISA. All laboratory-confirmed JE cases that occurred in the Kathmandu valley during 2006 were followed up for verification of residence and travel history. JE was confirmed in 40 residents of the Kathmandu valley, including 30 cases that had no history of travel outside the valley during the incubation period. Incidence was 2.1/100,000 and the case fatality was 20% (8/40). Currently, JE prevention is focused on the Terai region in Nepal; given the evidence, this should be reviewed for the possible inclusion of the Kathmandu valley in the national JE prevention and control program.

Received June 4, 2007. Accepted for publication September 13, 2007.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank the WHO Surveillance Medical Officers and the staff at the National Public Health Laboratory.

^* Address correspondence to Jeffrey Partridge, 6190 Kathmandu Place, Dulles, VA 20189-6190. E-mail: partridgej{at}searo.who.int

Authors’ addresses: Jeffrey Partridge, WHO Programme for Immunization Preventable Disease, Chakupat 10, Lalitpur, Nepal, Telephone: 977-1-5531831, Fax: 977-1-5530150, E-mail: partridgej{at}searo.who.int. Prakash Ghimire, WHO Programme for Immunization Preventable Disease, Chakupat 10, Lalitpur, Nepal, Telephone: 977-1-5531831, Fax: 977-1-5530150, E-mail: ghimirep{at}searo.who.int. Tika Sedai, WHO Programme for Immunization Preventable Disease, Chakupat 10, Lalitpur, Nepal, Telephone: 977-1-5531831, Fax: 977-1-5530150, E-mail: sedait{at}searo.who.int. Mahendra Bahadur Bista, Department of Health Services, Office of the Director General, Teku, Kathmandu, Nepal, Telephone: 977-1-4261436, Fax: 977-1-4262238, E-mail: dohs_dgoffice{at}ntc.net.np. Manas Banerjee, Department of Health Services, Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Teku, Kathmandu, Nepal, Telephone: 977-1-4255796, Fax: 977-1-4262268, E-mail: banerjeemanas{at}gmail.com.

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