Published onwednesday 22 feb 2023 at 09:42
February 22 is World Encephalitis Day, a day on which more than 150 (well-known and lesser-known) buildings are lit up in red. This year, the City Hall and the Casino of the city of Beringen will also turn red to draw attention to Encephalitis.
“On this day, we especially want to encourage the people who are (in)directly affected by this. In addition, Encephalitis is a relatively unknown autoimmune disease and many do not know what this disease means exactly. We therefore hope that with this campaign we will draw attention to the disease so that people affected by it can receive the right help more quickly,” says mayor Thomas Vints.
Encephalitis or inflammation of the brain is a life-threatening condition that can be very difficult to diagnose. It is often confused with psychiatric illness.
In encephalitis, the brain mass itself is inflamed and nerve cells or the white matter of the brain are directly damaged. Encephalitis affects more than 500,000 people worldwide each year – more than some types of meningitis, yet very few people have ever heard of it. The Encephalitis Society now wants to change that by drawing more attention to the disease.
Thomas Vints
Mayor