Vector sting cripples state

Guwahati: Barring Dima Hasao district, the entire state has been in the grip of vector-borne diseases this year.

At least 291 people have succumbed to such diseases till July this year, health minister Nazrul Islam said in a written reply in the house on Thursday.

Ninety-five people have died of Japanese encephalitis (JE), 193 of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and three of malaria this year, he wrote. The state has reported 468 cases of JE, 571 cases of AES and 5,981 cases of malaria this year.

Till July, 15 persons have died of JE and 22 of AES in Jorhat district. In Sivasagar district, 12 people have died of JE and 18 of AES till July. The three malaria deaths have been reported from Bongaigaon, Kamrup (Rural) and Karbi Anglong districts.

Dhemaji, Golaghat and Sivasagar have reported the highest number of JE cases (41 each), followed by Dibrugarh (38), Tinsukia (37) and Jorhat (28). Sivasagar has reported the highest number of AES cases (50), followed by Dhemaji and Dibrugarh (43 each) and Golaghat (41).

Besides vaccination drives among adults and children, a task force has been set up to contain the outbreak of vector-borne diseases in the state.