Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a viral infection caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family. The disease is endemic in several regions of Asia, including Japan, from which it gets its name.
It is caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which is spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
In the majority of the cases, the infected people are asymptomatic and, when symptoms appear, they range from mild ones such as fever, headache and general malaise to severe ones like seizures, neck stiffness, confusion and coma.
Diagnosis is based on the clinical evaluation of the symptoms, specific laboratory tests to detect the presence of the virus and imaging such as a CT-scan or an X-ray if the brain is involved.
The treatment is based off of support measures and consists of the patient's symptoms relief.
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.
