Abstract
Despite the increased use of vaccination in several Asian countries, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) remains the most important cause of viral encephalitis in Asia in humans with an estimated 68,000 cases annually. Considered a rural disease occurring mainly in paddy-field dominated landscapes where pigs are amplifying hosts, JE may nevertheless circulate in a wider range of environment given the diversity of its potential hosts and vectors. The main objective of this study was to assess the intensity of JE transmission to pigs in a peri-urban environment in the outskirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We estimated the force of JE infection in two cohorts of 15 sentinel pigs by fitting a generalised linear model on seroprevalence monitoring data observed during two four-month periods in 2014. Our results provide evidence for intensive circulation of JE virus in a periurban area near Phnom Penh, the capital and most populated city of Cambodia. Understanding JE virus transmission in different environments is important for planning JE virus control in the long term and is also an interesting model to study the complexity of vector-borne diseases. Collecting quantitative data such as the force of infection will help calibrate epidemiological model that can be used to better understand complex vector-borne disease epidemiological cycles.
Highlights
Despite the increased use of vaccination in several Asian countries, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) remains the most important cause of viral encephalitis in Asia in humans [1,2,3]
Other mosquito species, breeding in urban areas, and a large range of animal hosts can play a role in the transmission of Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), and JEV could be transmitted in peri-urban and urban areas
Our results show an intensive circulation of JEV in sentinel pigs in a peri-urban area of Phnom Penh
Summary
Despite the increased use of vaccination in several Asian countries, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) remains the most important cause of viral encephalitis in Asia in humans [1,2,3]. A recent review based on updated incidence data estimated that 68,000 JE cases occurred annually in the 24 JE-endemic countries, for an estimated incidence of 1.8 case per 100 ̊000 people overall [1]. Half of these cases occur in China where expanding vaccination programs should dramatically decrease the incidence of JE in the future. Cambodia is a JE high-incidence country with a nascent vaccination programme that should develop into a national program in the coming years [4]. A sentinel surveillance study on Japanese encephalitis in six Cambodian hospitals estimated the clinically-declared JE incidence in 2007 in the country at 11.1 cases per 100 000 children under 15 years of age [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
