Lucknow, October 9:

Japanese encephalitis claimed 15 more lives in northern India, as a health official today expressed surprise that the recent outbreak, which had appeared to be fading, was spreading again.

The outbreak has killed 1,038 people, mostly children, in the impoverished northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, according to government figures.

The disease is easily preventable by vaccinations, but many medical facilities in the area are underfunded and understaffed. “Cases are now being reported from newer areas,” said OP Singh, Uttar Pradesh’s director general of health services.

Reported cases of the mosquito-borne illness had been dropping with the end of the rainy season. “It is baffling, as new cases are being reported from western part of the state (Uttar Pradesh),” Singh said, adding that a team of specialists has been sent to the area to study the problem.

Japanese encephalitis breaks out every year in eastern Uttar Pradesh. This year has been exceptionally rainy, leaving many pools of water and providing the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.