During the first year of the immunization campaigns, 2006, more than nine million children in India were protected from Japanese encephalitis (JE). In subsequent campaigns, the Government of India reached tens of millions more with vaccine against this viral neurological killer.

Photo: PATH.

Colorful banners and signs throughout the village tell parents when and where they can bring their children for vaccination.

Photo: PATH.

Thousands of immunization cards and monitoring forms are set for delivery to local health clinics, community centers, and schools. Parents keep immunization cards as a record of their child’s health and immunization status, and monitoring forms enable health workers to keep track of any clinical reaction the child may experience after vaccination, such as redness, swelling, or nausea.

Photo: PATH.

Families line the corridors of vaccination sites, braving long hours and the Indian summer sun for their chance at lifesaving protection.

Photo: PATH.

After cooling off in a nearby river, these children eagerly anticipate a look at their images on our digital camera!

Photo: PATH.

Community response was so great at vaccination sites, health workers each administered about 150 vaccinations per day—one injection every four minutes. Here, health care workers prepare the SA 14-14-2 JE vaccine, which requires reconstitution before it can be administered.

Photo: PATH.

JE is the leading cause of viral disability in Asia, and there is no treatment or cure. Immunization is the best means to control it, and the World Health Organization recommends introduction of JE vaccines in endemic countries.

Photo: PATH.

This plaque-reduction neutralization plate helps researchers at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, India, confirm the presence of protective antibodies against JE in children who have received the vaccine.

Photo: PATH.

Rice paddies, prevalent throughout Southeast Asia, may make for a beautiful landscape, but they are also optimal breeding grounds for mosquitos that carry the JE virus.

Photo: PATH.

After becoming infected as a child, Uttam Patra never fully recovered. His plight reflects the often unseen side of JE—that of those who survive but suffer severe, lifelong disability. Uttam’s sister and father must help him perform even the most routine tasks, like dressing and walking. “We no longer have any hope that he will recover from this illness,” his sister says.

Photo: PATH.

Thanks to a lifesaving strategy from the Government of India and the contributions of partners at PATH and UNICEF, these children are now free from the threat of JE infection and its consequences.

Photo: PATH.

A film crew documented India’s JE vaccination campaigns for an installment in the Kill or Cure? series presented by BBC World. Vaccine of Hope is a follow-up to the series’ 2005 documentary on the country’s devastating JE outbreak and the government's efforts to introduce vaccine to save as many lives as possible, as rapidly as possible.

Photo: PATH.