Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is maintained through a transmission cycle between amplifier swine and vector mosquitoes in a peridomestic environment. Thus, studies on natural JEV activities in an environment with a small size of pig population have been limited. Here, we surveyed antibodies against JEV in inhabitants of Jakarta and Surabaya located in Java Island (Indonesia), which has a small swine population. Overall, 2.2% of 1,211 sera collected in Jakarta and 1.8% of 1,751 sera collected in Surabaya had neutralizing antibody titers of >or= 1:160 (90% plaque reduction). All the samples with titers of >or= 1:160 against JEV were also examined for neutralizing antibodies against each of four dengue viruses to confirm that JEV antibody prevalences obtained in the present survey were not attributable to serologic cross-reactivities among flaviviruses distributed in Java. These results indicated that people in Java Island are exposed to natural JEV infections despite a small swine population.

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