Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. JE, together with California encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Central European encephalitis and Russian spring-summer encephalitis, is serious disease affecting the nervous system.
After the introduction of universal vaccination against polio, JE is according to the WHO (World Health Organization), worldwide leading disease leading to paretic neuroinfections. It is a vaccine preventable disease typically found in Asia and Western Pacific.