Japanese encephalitis, a viral brain infection that spreads through mosquito bites, has caused panic in Odisha’s Balasore district after six students of a Kanyashram were detected with the deadly virus.

The Kanyashram (residential school) for girls is situated at Soro, 20km from the district headquarters of the Balasore district.

The virus is found in pigs and birds and is transmitted to mosquitoes when they bite infected animals. The district administration has launched a disinfection programme and is trying to identify whether there are any pigs surrounding the school which has been affected by the fever.

The state government is worried as Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome had taken the lives of 103 children in the tribal-dominated Malkangiri district in a span of just three months from September to November 2016.

The report about students being affected with the deadly fever came to light after students complained of vomiting, headache, and fever.

The local administration immediately swung into action and admitted them to the hospital. Later the administration tested the blood samples of 29 students and six of them reported positive for the disease. However, one of them succumbed to fever on Friday.