As many as 765 people died this year due to Japanese encephalitis in the country. These include the maximum of 275 in Bihar followed by 214 in Uttar Prades and 213 in Assam. Giving this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that his ministry has identified 171 Japanese encephalitis-prone districts in the country, 60 of which are in Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The Health Ministry data shows that the disease claimed 1,169 lives last year, 679 in 2010 and 774 in 2009.