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RESEARCH PAPER
Genetic Diversity and Geographical Distribution of Japanese Encephalitis Virus
1
Faculty of Clinical Research, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Department of Bioinformatics, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India
3
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX- 77843, United States of America (USA)
4
Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India
5
Centre for Research Impact & Outcome, Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Rajpura, 140401, Punjab, India
Submission date: 2026-03-29
Final revision date: 2026-05-09
Acceptance date: 2026-05-15
Online publication date: 2026-07-28
Publication date: 2026-07-28
Corresponding author
Journal of Medico Informatics 2026;02(Issue 03):21-27
HIGHLIGHTS
- Integrative phylogenomics reveals substantial genetic diversity among JEV circulating strains.
- Geospatial mapping links migratory bird routes with JEV transmission patterns.
- East and Southeast Asia showed prominent JEV genetic diversity hotspots.
- Phylogenetic analysis identified distinct clades and strongly supported evolutionary relationships.
- One Health integration supports improved surveillance, vaccination, and vector control.
KEYWORDS
Phylogenetic AnalysisVector-Borne DiseasesJapanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV)Geospatial MappingOne Health Approach
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) is a zoonotic Flavivirus that causes outbreaks of vector-borne encephalitis in Asia, currently endangering approximately four billion individuals. This study seeks to evaluate the genetic variability, phylogenetic relationships, and geographical distribution of JEV to ascertain the virus's transmission and evolution trends. Birds and mosquitoes were identified as the primary vectors for viral transmission, exhibiting significant sequence divergence. GIS indicated that the density of accommodations markedly rose in East and Southeast Asia, especially in China and Japan, while analyzing avian migratory paths. This study evaluated genetic data utilizing BIOEDIT, MEGA, and QGIS software, incorporating spatial data to elucidate the connections between avian migration and JEV transmission. The results underscored the virus's adaptability and evolutionary characteristics, indicating that the One Health approach is more suitable. This research provides critical insights to enhance disease surveillance, vaccine development, and vector management for Japanese Encephalitis control.
ABBREVIATIONS
JEV – Japanese Encephalitis Virus
JE – Japanese Encephalitis
GIS – Geographic Information System
NCBI – National Center for Biotechnology Information
MEGA – Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis
QGIS – Quantum Geographic Information System
DNA – Deoxyribonucleic Acid
RNA – Ribonucleic Acid
ML – Maximum Likelihood
BIC – Bayesian Information Criterion
GTR – General Time Reversible
AI – Artificial Intelligence
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
None
FUNDING
This research received no external funding. All work was conducted using institutional resources without dedicated grant support.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known financial, personal, academic, or other relationships that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, the work reported in this manuscript. All authors confirm that there are no competing interests to declare.
PEER REVIEW INFORMATION
Article has been screened for originality
© 2026 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).
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| ISSN: | 3108-2696 |
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