JE can be serious5
A traveller to any of 24 Asia-Pacific countries, including parts of Australia, can be infected with the JE virus (JEV). In rare cases, JE viral infection can result in encephalitis.5,6
What Is JE?
JE is one of the most common causes of viral encephalitis in Asia with an estimated 100,000 clinical cases worldwide every year.* JE may be underreported due to inadequate surveillance in many Asian countries where the virus is endemic.4,5,9
* According to a literature review and modelling study (95% CI: 61 720–157 522).
How is JE transmitted?
Pigs and birds are efficient amplification and reservoir hosts for JEV, providing a source of infection for the dead-end hosts: humans and horses who cannot transmit the disease further.9
- JEV is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Culex mosquitoes, which breed in standing water, often in farms and rice paddies in most rural areas of Asia.9
- Culex mosquitoes tend to bite mostly between dusk and dawn, and outdoors more than indoors.10
The mosquitoes are found year-round in tropical areas and during the month of May through October in temperate areas.10
Where does JE occur?
Your patients may be at risk of JE while they travel in Asia
- JE is one of the most common causes of viral encephalitis in Asia and may be underreported due to inadequate surveillance in many Asian countries where the virus is endemic.4
- Unvaccinated travellers from non-endemic countries of any age may be affected.9
- For most travellers to Asia, the risk for JE is low but varies on the basis of destination, season, length of stay, and activities.9
Not just Japan
While the first case of JE disease was documented in 1871 in Japan, JEV has also been identified throughout Asia, and beyond. Due to a combination of the impact of global warming, increased flooding, and movement of pig and rice farming to peri-urban areas, the risk area for JE continues to expand, most recently with the inclusion of Australia.5,9,11
Anyone travelling to these at-risk areas should be assessed for risk and educated about JE prevention strategies.
Not just in rural areas
The risk for transmission may shift as boundaries between rural and urban areas are blurred. JE is an unpredictable threat for travellers, with cases showing that travellers visiting for a short time, even with little to no rural exposure and outside the established transmission season, have contracted JE.2
JE myths
Consequences of JE
The majority of infections in humans are asymptomatic; between 1 in 25 and 1 in 1000 infections with the JE virus result in clinical disease.6
JE is a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease for which there is no specific treatment available9
of people who
develop JE die9
clinical cases of
JE worldwide annually5*
of patients fully
recover from JE1
Symptomatic JE
Between 1:25 and 1:10006
* According to a literature review and modelling study (95% CI: 61 720–157 522).
Up to 50% of survivors suffer from enduring disabilities9
Cognitive5,17
- Language Impairment
- Inability to speak
- Cognitive deficits
- Learning difficulties
- Behavioral problems
Neurological17
- Seizures
- Psychiatric issues
Physical17
- Paralysis
- Upper & Lower motor neuron weakness
- Cerebellar & extrapyramidal signs
- Flexion deformities of arms
- Hypertension of legs
IXIARO® is not indicated for the treatment of JE or for preventing death or long-term complications once the disease has developed.
Although the relative mortality rate of JE in a healthy population might be very low, due to the permanent neurological sequelae, the public health burden for the society is much higher.1
When does JE occur?
Many cases of JE occur during rainy season, and these months vary by country.8 Travellers to Asia may also be bitten outside of rainy season as JEV transmission can occur year-round in many subtropical regions.18 Environmental factors such as climate change can play a key role in mosquito-borne transmission, increasing favourable breeding conditions.19
JE epidemiology
Though the number of JE cases in travellers to Asia reported to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is few, JE does occur and consequences of the disease are potentially devastating.
- There are an estimated 100,000 clinical cases of JE globally each year.5*
- JE is one of the most common causes of vaccine-preventable encephalitis in Asia and the leading cause of viral-induced neurologic sequelae.5,9
- Data show that more than one-third of travellers who developed JE were short-term travellers to Asia.3
* According to a literature review and modelling study (95% CI: 61 720–157 522).
