Japanese Encephalitis in Bali

[spicyayam]

A boy at my son's school just returned today after being absent for 6 months. Apparently he had Japanese Encephalitis and was in a coma for much of the time at Sanglah hospital.

Not surprisingly initially they thought it was Dengue fever. I was vaccinated for it before I went to China. My wife called Kasih Ibu hospital and they said the vaccine is difficult to get, but I think she will keep trying.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/j-enceph/index.html

 

[Mark]

This is a pretty rare disease, transmitted by mosquitoes who have gotten it from pigs, so it tends be clustered around pig farming in rural areas. According to the Singapore MOH, only 1 in 300 infections result in encephalitis, but of these 20-50% are fatal. They advise that the vaccine comes in three doses and should be boosted every two years.

 

[spicyayam]

Yes, rare but well still a worry. Many people raise pigs around where we live and I think most of Bali.