Volume 15, Number 1—January 2009
Perspective
Past, Present, and Future of Japanese Encephalitis
, Svenja Weiss, Jennifer Keiser, Jürg Utzinger, and Karin WiedenmayerTable 1
First reported case and current situation of Japanese encephalitis in the main disease-endemic countries
| Country | First reported case | Total population in rural JE-endemic areas (% of total)* | Annual incidence† | DALYs in 2002‡ | Trend of JE incidence§ | Vaccination program† | National diagnostic center† | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1995 | NA§ | <1 | <1¶ | Stable | Yes | Yes | (21) |
| Bangladesh | 1977 | 106,385,000 (75) | NA | 24,000 | Increasing | No | No | (22) |
| Cambodia | 1965# | 11,293,000 (80) | NA | 4,000 | Increasing | No | NA | (23) |
| China | 1940 | 422,532,000 (32) | 8,000–10,000 | 281,000 | Decreasing | Yes | Yes | (18) |
| India | 1955 | 597,542,000 (54) | 1,500–4,000 | 226,000 | Increasing | No | Yes | (24) |
| Indonesia | 1960 | 116,114,000 (52) | NA | 23,000 | Increasing | No | NA | (25) |
| Japan | 1924 | 43,969,000 (34) | <10** | <1 | Stable | Yes | Yes | (26) |
| North Korea | 1933 | 8,606,000 (38) | NA | 6,000 | NA | NA | NA | (27) |
| South Korea | 1933 | 9,194,000 (19) | <20 | 6,000 | Stable | Yes | Yes | (27) |
| Laos | 1989 | 4,643,000 (78) | NA | 5,000 | Increasing | No | Yes | (28) |
| Malaysia | 1952†† | 8,854,000 (35) | 50–100 | 2,000 | Decreasing | Yes | Yes | (29) |
| Myanmar | 1965 | 35,077,000 (69) | NA | 13,000 | Increasing | No | NA | (18) |
| Nepal | 1978 | 4,567,000 (20) | 1,000–3,000 | 5,000 | Stable | Yes | Yes | (30) |
| Papua New Guinea | 1995 | 5,109,000 (87) | NA | 2,000 | NA | NA | NA | (21) |
| Pakistan | 1983 | 18,536,000 (12) | NA | 82,000 | Increasing | NA | NA | (27) |
| The Philippines | 1950 | 31,081,000 (37) | 10–50 | 8,000 | Stable | No | Yes | (19) |
| Singapore | 1952 | 0 | <1 | 260 | Stable | No | Yes | (31) |
| Sri Lanka | 1968 | 16,381,000 (79) | 100–200 | 1,000 | Decreasing | Yes | Yes | (32) |
| Thailand | 1964 | 43,364,000 (68) | 1,500–2,500 | 5,000 | Decreasing | Yes | Yes | (18,27) |
| Vietnam | 1960 | 61,729,000 (73) | 1,000–3,000 | 11,000 | Stable | Yes | Yes | (27,33) |
*Japanese encephalitis (JE)–-endemic areas drawn from map provided in (34); rural population estimates derived from United Nations Urbanization Revisions (2).
†Information retrieved from questionnaires answered by employees from Ministry of Health and World Health Organization country offices.
‡Estimates for 2002 from World Health Organization (20). DALYs, disability-adjusted life years.
§<1% of the country is JE-endemic (Torres Straight islands, Cape York Peninsula). NA, not available.
¶Two deaths since 1995 (35).
#Virus isolated from mosquito (29).
**JE cases are very rare; highest risk is on Okinawa, Miyako, and Ishigaki islands. Between 1995 and 2005, 3 cases were reported (all in 2002) (26).
††First isolated from humans. During World War II, an outbreak that was probably due to JE occurred (31).
