As the five-year plan for Japanese Encephalitis (JE) Control in India will end in December, the Centre is in the process of planning the strategy for the next five years — from 2011 to 2015 — for eradication of the disease.
In its attempt to identify gaps in the current strategy for the three main affected states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam — the Centre has decided to call a consultation meet of experts. In the meet to be held in December 11, experts from these three state, along with officials from the Centre and other stakeholders, like WHO, will participate. This meeting, which will take place Kushinagar district — one of the worst affected districts along with Gorakhpur, Siddharthanagar and Basti — will be chaired by Dr R K Srivastava, Director General (Union Health Services).
Moreover, experts from National Institute of Virology and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme have been invited to make presentations on issues related to vaccination, gaps in identification of the viruses, etc.