District hospitals in Assam still lack special care units and medicines to fight the disease.
Over 350 people have died due to an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis or JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in Assam in the last few weeks.
21 districts in the state have reportedly been affected by the disease, which is characterised by a complex set of symptoms including fever, body ache and headache.
The virus is carried by mosquitoes and it amplifies inside pigs and migratory birds. Japanese encephalitis happens in areas with stagnant water pits and paddy fields, the breeding ground for mosquitoes that are carriers of the virus.
Vaccination is the only way to prevent the disease, but government laxity combined with a dearth of the rare vaccine has worsened the situation.
Sivasagar, the worst-hit among the 21 affected districts, has witnessed over 45 deaths this year due to the disease.
Nine districts, where vaccination programmes were carried out in February, have not fallen prey to the epidemic.
Last year, Assam received a grant of Rs. 910.4 crore from the National Rural Health Mission, of which Rs. 57.41 crore was meant to fight vector-borne diseases. A major part of this amount was allotted to prevent another outbreak of Encephalitis.
Despite the NRHM grant, district hospitals still lack special care units, medicines and laboratories to tackle the outbreak.
The rebellion brewing within the ruling Congress has adversely affected the fight against Encephalitis, believe locals. The functioning of the health ministry has been severely affected by the dissidence, they believe; former health minister Himanta Biswa Sharma had led the rebellion.
Ironically, Assam was the first state in the country to start a JE adult vaccination programme and the pilot project for it was undertaken at Sivasagar in 2011.
But all these measure seem inadequate as the death toll due to Encephalitis keeps on mounting in the state.