Guwahati, July 4 -- Japanese Encephalitis (JE) continues to pose a serious public health challenge in Assam, with five more deaths reported over the past 10 days, taking the state's death toll to 15. The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases has also risen to 119, according to the latest health data.

Kamrup district has recorded the highest number of infections with 17 confirmed cases, followed by Morigaon with eight and Sivasagar with seven. In terms of fatalities, Kamrup district has reported four deaths, while Barpeta, Jorhat and Lakhimpur have recorded two deaths each. One death each has also been reported from Kamrup (Metro), Cachar, Bongaigaon, Dima Hasao and Tamulpur.

Public health experts attribute Assam's recurring JE outb...