To come up with a better understanding of and develop advanced immunization method for controlling Japanese encephalitis (JE), scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore are now working along with scientists from the University of Liverpool.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr Lance Turtle from the Brain Infection Group, University of Liverpool, who is among the chief scientists involved said, “This is a two year project and we are already half way through. The team is working in communities, and in Karnataka we are doing the research at Bellary. We are developing blood tests to improve diagnosis of the disease, as well as methods to measure the outcome of the infection to understand the health impacts of this serious illness on communities.” The team of investigators comprises six scientists from the University of Liverpool and IISc Bangalore. In addition, there are five other supervisory members in the team.
“The JE virus attacks the brain, causing inflammation and swelling, which can result in seizures, coma and changes in personality. Our aim is to develop immunization programmes to control as well as help reduce the burden of the disease by the time we complete the project,” he added.
Explaining about the JE virus, Dr Turtle said, “These viruses are mainly found in pigs and wading birds and transmitted to people by mosquitoes. Children are mainly affected, and of those who survive the infection, many suffer permanent brain damage.
“We are also moving forward to try to uncover other causes of encephalitis as well as understand the precise cellular mechanisms of the body’s response to the disease in greater detail.” The team has also developed a standard method of quantifying the disabilities caused by JE. This helps in characterizing the disabilities children may have after the infection has left the body.
Prof Vijaya Satchidanadam from IISc, said, “The areas most affected by JE are often isolated and far away from our laboratories where the virus can be analyzed and diagnosed, but working with large numbers of researchers means that we are more likely to reach these patients and understand how the infection works.”