The health department has decided to propose a mass adult vaccination drive in Sivasagar district for everyone above 15 years to curb the spread of encephalitis. The move comes in view of rising number of encephalitis cases in the district. Vaccination below 15 years is already being done across the state. The department will urge health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is scheduled to visit the district tomorrow to take stock of the situation, to approve the plan. The joint director of health in Sivasagar, Sadhana Dutta, told The Telegraph that as a long-term measure, the department has decided to carry out a mass adult vaccination drive by vaccinating people above 15 years. She said the government has already approved such a drive in Geleki and Pakhuka public health centres as the number of encephalitis cases were more in these areas last year. Dutta said the department would now urge the government to extend the vaccination plan to the entire district and the proposal in this regard will be given to the health minister. The joint director said if the proposal is approved, Sivasagar would be the first district in the country to go for adult vaccination against Japanese encephalitis. According to health department records, till date 131 cases of acute encephalitis syndrome were recorded since January, which was 79 even last week. From 21, the number of deaths has gone up to 34 while the number of confirmed Japanese encephalitis cases has gone up to 24 from 15 last week. Deaths because of confirmed Japanese encephalitis has gone up to eight from six last week. The joint health director said the proposed drive would be conducted in October after the rainy season, which would be a preventive step for the future as now the immediate priority was to prevent the disease from taking an epidemic form. Dutta said a truck loaded with melatheon had arrived few days back, which was being used for fogging. Sivasagar chief medical health officer Akhil Hazarika said measures to stop the disease from spreading further were being taken on a war footing in all areas under the eight public health centres of the district. Thirteen fogging machines were being used regularly with teams spraying chemicals to kill mosquitoes. He said the civic bodies in their respective areas were cleaning up drains to prevent mosquito breeding. Hazarika said Dispur has agreed to release additional funds and Sivasagar deputy commissioner Jatindra Lahkar, too, had arranged funds to combat the disease. The chief medical health officer said around 27,000 medicated beds were being distributed. In the adjoining Jorhat district, too, the health department is carrying out a massive drive following the detection of 30 acute encephalitis syndrome cases and 13 deaths till date.