Japanese encephalitis has infected more Victorians than first thought, the state's health department says, as it opens vaccine eligibility to more local government areas.
The department has estimated about one in 30 people in affected northern Victorian council areas may have contracted the virus after a serosurvey indicated a greater number of cases than the 13 reported during last year's mosquito season.
The survey took responses and blood samples from 800 participants in Loddon Mallee, Goulburn Valley and Ovens Murray.
