When mosquitoes bite an infected pig or bird, they pick up the virus and can transmit it to humans when they bite them.
Jacobson said Japanese encephalitis, when it is not fatal, can leave victims with severe physical and mental damage.
“People’s personality changes - they have behavioral issues," she said. "A very striking finding is that within families when you are talking to them, the children who have survived, kids will not recognize a family member. So they will be crying, crying to talk to their sister, 'I want my sister, I want my sister I want to talk to my sister' - it is very devastating for families to have that kind of disability that comes to the household.”
Health experts say the best way to protect people against this crippling disease is to immunize them with the encephalitis vaccine. They recommend that children especially be routinely vaccinated. Jacobson said there also is an urgent need for public health agencies to step up surveillance and diagnostic operations in endemic countries - to look for early signs of encephalitis and take steps to limit its terrible toll.
最新
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27