Utrecht Virology Lab (@utrechtvirology.bsky.social)

The hidden threats posed by Japanese encephalitis virus genotype V | Journal of Virology Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a member of the Flaviviridae family and Orthoflavivirus genus, is one of the leading causes of viral encephalitis in Asia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), JEV circulates in 24 countries across the WHO South-East Asia Region and Western Pacific Region, causing approximately 20,000 infections annually and placing over 3 billion people at risk of infection (1, 2). The majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic, while a small proportion develop Japanese encephalitis (JE), a severe neurological disease with a fatality rate of ~30%. Moreover, ~50% of JE survivors experience permanent neurological, cognitive, and behavioral sequelae. However, no specific antiviral treatments are currently available for JE (3). Fortunately, JE is a vaccine-preventable disease, and the widespread promotion and accessibility of vaccination programs have significantly reduced the incidence of JE globally over the past two decades (4). https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01644-25