title: A decade of Japanese encephalitis surveillance in Sarawak, Malaysia: 1997-2006.
abstract: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an important encephalitis virus in Asia, but there are few data on Malaysia. A hospital-based surveillance system for Japanese encephalitis (JE) has been in operation in Sarawak, Malaysia, for the last 10 years. JEV is endemic in Sarawak, with cases occurring throughout the year and a seasonal peak in the last quarter (one-way anova, P < 0.0001). Ninety-two per cent of 133 cases were children aged 12 years or younger; the introduction of JE vaccination in July 2001 reduced the number of JE cases (84 in the four seasons prior to vs. 49 in the six seasons after, McNemar's test, P = 0.0001). After implementation of the programme, the mean age of infected children increased from 6.3 to 8.0 years (Student's t-test, P = 0.0037), suggesting the need for a catch-up programme.
authors.affiliation: Sibu Hospital, Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia.
authors.forename: See C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Mong H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.forename: Abdul R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: See Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Shekhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: Phaik H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Tio
authors.forename: Peng C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Pek
authors.forename: Boon F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: Jamail
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muhi
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiyu
authors.forename: Mohamad T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Arif
authors.forename: Mary J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cardosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004664:Encephalitis Virus, Japanese / Q000276:immunology*; D004672:Encephalitis, Japanese / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D022321:Japanese Encephalitis Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012621:Seasons; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D022321:Japanese Encephalitis Vaccines