Mizoram gears up to prevent JE entry from Assam

The Mizoram government is planning mass awareness drives and screening of visitors from Assam to prevent an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the state, a senior health department official said Thursday.

The steps are being taken after the disease killed 64 people and infected over 200 in neighbouring Assam, with which Mizoram shares a 123 km-long porous border.

The senior health official said that though no case of JE infection has been reported in Mizoram, the efforts are being taken to prevent a possible entry from Assam.

"Mizoram is particularly vulnerable to JE as Culex, carrier of the disease, is the most populous mosquito species in the state. Steps will be taken to reduce their population," Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma, the state nodal officer of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP), said.

The culex mosquito species gets infected from pigs, birds and other animals, Lalmalsawma said.