Clinical Features in Children Hospitalized during the 2005 Epidemic of Japanese Encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh, India

Background. Japanese encephalitis is a disease that affects the rural poor in Asia. In August–September 2005, a severe epidemic of Japanese encephalitis occurred in Uttar Pradesh, one of India's poorest states. Methods. Children admitted to the King George Medical University hospital (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India) with acute febrile encephalopathy (defined as fever plus encephalopathy of ⩽2 weeks' duration) from July to October 2005 underwent ELISA for Japanese encephalitis virus immunoglobulin M in cerebrospinal fluid or serum on hospital admission. Clinicolaboratory features of patients with positive test results were recorded. Results. of the 223 children tested, 77 had positive results for Japanese encephalitis immunoglobulin M. Patients were from 18 districts of Uttar Pradesh. All but 1 were from rural areas, and none were