Wed2018

What is World Encephalitis Day?

World Encephalitis Day on February 22 is the global awareness day for people who have been affected by encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). It was founded by The Encephalitis Society in 2014 and has subsequently helped to raise awareness among millions of people.

Why is it important?

Eight out of 10 people across the world do not know what encephalitis is *. That is a startling figure which we are determined to change if we are to achieve our vision of a world which is aware of encephalitis, its consequences and the support available.

What can I do to help?

We need you to join us by raising awareness of encephalitis in the run up to and on World Encephalitis Day on Thursday, February 22. 

• You can take part in BrainWalk by downloading the App to your smart phone
• Wear something red and go #RED4WED on World Encephalitis Day
• Get involved by holding a fundraising event, supporting us on social media or making a donation.
• Spare a few seconds to sign up to Thunderclap and help us send a message to millions of social media users on February 22.

If you have any questions about World Encephalitis Day, please get in contact

Who are we?

The Encephalitis Society is the only resource of its kind in the world providing direct support and information to individuals and families affected by encephalitis.

This project is supported by a charitable donation from Pfizer Ltd.

We are grateful to wearelumiere.com for their continued support of this project.

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Sample sizes and 2017 field work dates varied according to country (Five countries were surveyed: UK, USA, Germany, India, and Australia). By people we mean adults (aged 18+) in the general public. The 8 out of 10 people statistic is a mean of the five countries surveyed and was calculated by The Encephalitis Society by identifying incorrect answers to the YouGov Plc survey question ‘in your own words, please type in the box below what you understand the word encephalitis to be/mean’ and reflecting this information in a recalculation of YouGov Plc’s question ‘yes I have heard of encephalitis and know what is it’.