Thirteen new cases of suspected Chandipura virus and five fatalities have been reported in Gujarat on Sunday, the state health department said. Among the new suspected cases, two each were reported from Ahmedabad, Aravalli and Banaskantha while 1 each was reported from Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mehsana, Vadodara and Rajkot. Furthermore, the suspected deaths due to Chandipura were reported one each from Kheda, Mahisagar and Vadodara and two from Banaskantha.
The health department issued a statement stating that the government has initiated several measures to control the viral Chandipura infection, which gets transmitted by vectors like mosquitoes, ticks, and sandflies.
Rising cases
On Saturday, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) based in Pune confirmed nine cases of Chandipura virus from Gujarat. However, on Sunday, no new confirmed cases were reported in the state. The statement added that samples of all suspected cases were sent to the NIV for testing.
Daily monitoring in state
Notably, Gujarat reported the first Chandipura virus fatality on Wednesday. After the first confirmed death, the state health department issued directives for daily monitoring and supervision at the local level to detect potential infections and control the disease. According to the health department statement, the teams have conducted surveillance across nearly 19,000 houses and sprayed powder in 1.16 lakh houses in the affected areas. It asserted that each case is being investigated by a rapid response team while advising people to use protective gear.
Symptoms of Chandipura infection
Chandipura virus pathogen is a member of the Vesiculovirus genus of the family Rhabdoviridae which transmits through vectors with symptoms similar to flu and acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
On Friday, the Union Health Ministry along with experts reviewed the cases of Chandipura and Acute Encephalitis in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The Chandfipura spread can be disastrous as the earlier spread in 2003-2004 saw fatality rates ranging from 56-75 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat with typical encephalitic symptoms.
(With PTI Inputs)
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