Guwahati, Aug 28 (PTI) At least 85 people have died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Assam in the last two months, a bulletin by the health department said.

Ten deaths were reported over the last nine days, including one on Saturday.

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Since July this year, as many as 390 people have succumbed to the infection, the bulletin said.

JE is a viral brain infection that spreads through mosquito bites. The virus, found in pigs and birds, is passed to mosquitoes when they bite infected animals.

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Given the surge in JE cases over the past few months, a District Rapid Response Team was formed in July to deal with the situation.

All Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines communicated by National Health Mission, Assam, are being followed in the districts for case detection, management and referral, official sources said.

Nine medical colleges and 10 district hospitals in the state, equipped with requisite facilities, have been designated as JE treatment centres, they added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)