In Assam, encephalitis-related death toll has risen to 144. 44 of them have been confirmed to have died of Japanese Encephalitis disease. State Health Department sources said 614 people have been affected by the Japanese Encephalitis and other vector-borne diseases in as many as 15 districts of the State during last few weeks. The districts, which are confirmed to have been affected by the disease include – Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sibsagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia.The State Government has set up nine laboratories to diagnose Japanese Encephalitis infection at the four Medical Colleges at Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Guwahati and Silchar besides the District Civil Hospitals at Lakhimpur, Sibsagar, Golaghat and Tezpur Mission Hospital. One additional laboratory has also been set up at the Regional Medical Research Centre at Lahowal in Dibrugarh district. The Health Department has launched massive awareness drives in the affected districts, particularly in tea garden localities, involving local school authorities and Accredited Social Health Activists, ASHAs. Special medical teams are rendering round-the-clock services among the affected people.