Japanese Encephalitis
This is a viral disease that infects both animals and humans. The infection is transmitted by Culicine mosquitoes, and in humans can cause inflammation of the membranes around the brain.
It is a disease which occurs mainly in Asia since the major vector species breed in rice fields. There are 30-50,000 clinical cases reported annually but many more are unreported. The virus circulates in herons or egrets. Pigs are the amplifying hosts; the virus reproduces in the pigs, which then provide the reservoir of infection for mosquitoes.
