Japanese encephalitis
Solomon’s research is on emerging brain infections, especially encephalitis (inflammation and swelling of the brain, usually caused by a virus). He is an expert on Japanese encephalitis, an emerging infectious disease that is a zoonosis spread from animals to humans by mosquitoes. He showed that Japanese encephalitis virus can cause an illness with leg paralysis which could be confused for polio. He also highlighted the importance of dengue, a related mosquito-borne virus, as a cause of neurological disease. He works on the origins, evolution, and spread of Japanese encephalitis. He has played a major role in the global campaign to control Japanese encephalitis through vaccination. This included developing the Liverpool Outcome Score for quantifying the disability caused by Japanese encephalitis and helping produce the WHO Surveillance Standards for detecting the disease. He is also an expert on enterovirus 71, which causes hand foot and mouth disease and encephalitis. He works on improving the diagnosis, better understanding the disease mechanisms, and strengthening clinical management.