Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain.
Symptoms include high fever, headache, vomiting, confusion, and in severe cases, convulsions, paralysis and coma. This disease can lead to brain damage. Children and the elderly particularly at risk of the most severe types of encephalitis. Up to 60 percent of cases are found is considered fatal.
Often the inflammation caused by a virus, but there are also rare cases caused by bacteria. Some types of viruses can cause encephalitis, including rabies, influenza, measles, herpes and encephalitis caused by ticks. Kind estimated Japanese encephalitis, which is transmitted by mosquitoes.
More than 300 people were reported to have contracted.
Ordinary but 'alarming'
Japanese encephalitis are common in the rainy season when mosquitoes breed. The rainy season in India began in June. Also there have been reports of encephalitis outbreaks of southern India and Sri Lanka.
Every year hundreds of people are reported dead as a result of encephalitis in all corners of India - especially the children who do not yet have partial immunity.
There is already a vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, but it is expensive and it takes three injections that according to health experts are not affordable in low-income countries.
Raising pigs can cause encephalitis outbreak - especially in the area of rice producers
Outbreaks due to modern farming
In South and Southeast Asia, the situation is getting worse since irrigated rice production increased and expanded.
Mosquitoes that carry Japanese encephalitis, associated with dengue fever breed in flooded rice fields.
These mosquitoes generally prefer the blood of animals for food and more like a pig. However, when the number of mosquitoes explode, they also bite humans.
The state of West Bengal in India into the region worst affected by this outbreak. Breeders in the state, the majority of raising pigs.
The best way to cope with this disease is to reduce the number of mosquitoes.
In West Bengal, health officials have encouraged fumigation and they hope "the situation can be resolved soon."
In the long term - to reduce the number of cases of Japanese encephalitis - The World Health Organization called for not increasing the number of pigs in the countries affected by the outbreak, although as an alternative source of income for rice farmers.
WHO says 24 countries in various parts of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific threatened Japanese encephalitis outbreak, make half the world's population at risk for infection. Until now there is still no treatment.
