CHITWAN: The death toll from Japanese encephalitis in the district has reached six since mid-July.

According to the District Public Health Office, the deceased include two from Bharatpur Metropolitan City, one from Khairahani Municipality, two from Rapti Municipality, and one from Kalika Municipality.

Ram K.C., the office’s kit controller, said the most recent death was a woman from Ward No. 4 of Khairahani Municipality.

So far, 17 people in the district have been infected with the disease, including 10 women and seven men.

Of the infected, three are under 15 years old, five are between 15 and 60, and nine are over 60.

Ram K.C. stated that 15 of the infected had not received vaccination, while the vaccination status of two remains unclear.

Among the infected, seven are from Bharatpur.

The deceased include one aged 89, another 81, two aged 70, one aged 39, and another aged 42.

Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted by the bite of Culex mosquitoes.

These mosquitoes prefer to live outdoors, bite outside homes, and are most active in the evenings and mornings.

They can transmit the virus after biting pigs, poultry, and other animals.

Dinesh Rupakheti, Chief of the District Public Health Office, added that these mosquitoes also lay eggs in rice fields, where the larvae develop.