CHITWAN: A vaccination campaign against Japanese encephalitis is set to begin in Chitwan district from April 8.
A total of 18,811 residents of Madi Municipality and 4,204 residents of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-19 are scheduled to receive the vaccine.
Chief of the Public Health Office, Nirmal Ghimire, stated that the campaign will continue until April 13. The vaccine will be administered to adults over 30 who have not previously been vaccinated, as well as children under 15 who missed earlier doses.
According to Ram KC, the district’s insect control officer, one person died and four were infected with Japanese encephalitis in 2024, while in 2025, 16 cases were reported, resulting in five deaths.
Japanese encephalitis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by female Culex mosquitoes, which are predominantly active outdoors during mornings and evenings.
Mosquitoes can acquire the virus by biting animals such as pigs, ducks, and geese. The pests typically breed in rice fields, where eggs develop into larvae, posing a continued risk for disease transmission.
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