To shield kids aged under 15 years from Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus, the Union government has asked three districts–Pune, Parbhani and Raigad–across Maharashtra to start a pilot immunisation project. Based on the response, the vaccination will then be included in the routine immunisation programme. The civic limits of Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Parbhani and Panvel have been selected for the pilot project. Although rare, JE is a viral brain infection that spreads through mosquito bites. State health department officials said the Union government has approved the JE vaccination under the performance improvement plan for these three districts. The doses for the same have been requested, they added. View More