• Lance Turtle, Ava Easton, Sylviane Defres, Mark Ellul, Begona Bovill, Jim Hoyle, Agam Jung, Penny Lewthwaite, and Tom Solomon.
• Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, 8 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L69 7BE, UK.
• J Travel Med. 2019 Oct 14; 26 (7).

BackgroundJapanese encephalitis (JE), caused by the mosquito-borne JE virus, is a vaccine-preventable disease endemic to much of Asia. Travellers from non-endemic areas are susceptible if they travel to a JE endemic area. Although the risk to travellers of JE is low, the consequences may be severe.MethodsHere, we describe three cases of JE in British travellers occurring in 2014-15. In addition, we report, through interviews with survivors and their families, personal experiences of life after JE.ResultsThree cases of JE were diagnosed in British travellers in 2014/15. One was acquired in Thailand, one in China and one in either Thailand, Laos or Cambodia. All three patients suffered severe, life-threatening illnesses, all were admitted to intensive care units and required medical evacuation back to the UK. One patient suffered a cardiac arrest during the acute stage but made a good recovery. The other two patients remain significantly paralysed and ventilator dependent. All three cases had clear indications for vaccination, and all have been left with life-changing neurological sequelae.ConclusionsTravel health providers should be aware of the severity of JE, as well as the risk, allowing travellers to make fully informed decisions on JE vaccination.© International Society of Travel Medicine 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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