Viral infection caused by a virus of the flavivirus family. This disease is endemic in several regions of Asia, including Japan, from which it derives its name.
It is transmitted by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes.
In most cases, infected persons have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they can range from mild symptoms such as fever, headache and malaise, to severe ones such as convulsions, neck stiffness, confusion and coma.
Diagnosis is based on clinical evaluation of symptoms, specific laboratory tests to detect the presence of the virus and imaging such as CT or MRI when there is brain involvement.
Treatment is supportive and consists of alleviating the patient's symptoms.
Vaccination is the most effective measure to prevent Japanese encephalitis.
- Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC). Encefalitis japonesa en dos niños: Estados Unidos, 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2011; 60:276.
- Mackenzie JS, Williams DT, Smith DW. Virus de la encefalitis japonesa: la distribución geográfica, la incidencia y la propagación de un virus con tendencia a emerger en nuevas áreas. En: Virus emergentes en poblaciones humanas, Tabor E (Ed), Elsevier, 2007.
- Halstead SB, Jacobson J. Encefalitis japonesa. Adv Virus Res 2003; 61:103.
- Centros de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades. La encefalitis japonesa. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/travel-related-infectious-diseases/japanese-encephalitis (Consultado el 29 de julio de 2019).
- Ompusunggu S, Hills SL, Maha MS, et al. Confirmación de la encefalitis japonesa como enfermedad humana endémica mediante vigilancia centinela en Indonesia. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2008; 79:963.
