Japanese encephalitis, a Vector-Borne Disease (VBD), alone caused 407 deaths in Nepal in 1997, shows the record at the Ministry of Health (MOH). According to Dr Mahendra Bista, director of Epidemiologu and Disease Control Division under the Ministry, altogether 2,953 cases of encephalitis were reported the same year. The figure is nearly double the number of cases reported in 1996.