Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Pakistan: An Update and Way Forward

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is the leading form of mosquito borne viral encephalitis in Asia, with about 100,000 annual cases in which children are more dominant. The causative agent of JE is Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) which is transmitted by Culex mosquitoes particularly Culex Tritaeniorhynchus. Mostly JE infections in humans are asymptomatic while severe JEV infection occurred in only few cases characterized by high grade fever, headache, seizures and unusual behavior, lesion and paralysis. The specific treatment of JEV is not available so far but the supportive care is effective. Many antiviral drugs have been investigated, but none of these have shown to improve the effect of JE except minocycline. The objective of gathering information and performing review is to asses JEV emergence possibility in Pakistan and to define some mitigation measure. In this review, the current knowledge of the prevalence and the pathogenesis of the JEV have been summarized. Furthermore, the current scenario of JEV, challenges and possible way forward in Pakistan has been discussed.