The state government has decided to immunise all children between 1 to 15 years of age in Ambala district against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) this year. A meeting to implement the Japanese Encephalitis Vaccination Campaign to be started next month was held under the chairmanship of Dr Satvir Chaudhary, director health services (malaria), Haryana, here today. JE is a serious and disabling illness caused by the Japanese Encephalitis virus. The virus enters into the body through a mosquito bite and infects the brain, causing inflammations and swelling, which may damage the brain. It affects children below 15 years of age. The disease could be prevented by the administration of injectable vaccine to the child. After a single dose of vaccination there is development of immunity in 95 to 98 per cent cases. Only four districts of Haryana, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Ambala and Kaithal had shown significant prevalence of the disease. Explaining about the symptoms and fall out of the disease, Dr Chaudahry said most of the people, who got infected with the JE virus did not develop any illness. However, among those, who developed signs and symptoms of Encephalitis (swelling and inflammations of the brain), up to 30 per cent died and approximately 40 per cent suffered from brain damage, leading to permanent disabilities, such as paralysis and mental retardation. In India, cases from many states had been reported, but the maximum were from Uttar Pradesh (UP), he said, adding that in UP during 2005, there were more than 6,000 cases out of which about 1,500 died. Last year also, 989 deaths were reported in India, where 4,017 cases of disease reached the hospitals of the country. The state recorded 85 cases of JE out of which 46 deaths were reported, he said. Informing about the vaccination programme, the director said a total of 3,95,518 children of Ambala district would be covered this year, while 6,61,107 children form Karnal and Kurukshetra had already been vaccinated under the programme in 2007.