Two more children died of suspected Chandipura virus infection in Gujarat on Tuesday, taking the number of fatalities attributed to the infection in the State so far to eight, with new cases reported from other districts.
With the death of two more children, the number of persons infected by the virus has gone up to 15, and eight of them have died, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said, briefing reporters in State capital Gandhinagar.
So far, cases have been reported from Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Mahisagar, Kheda, Mehsana, and Rajkot districts, the Minister said.
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Mr. Patel said three cases from the neighbouring States — two from Rajasthan and one from Madhya Pradesh — had also been treated in Gujarat hospitals. Of the two patients from Rajasthan, one has died.
He added the State Health Department had undertaken intensive surveillance of the affected districts, and a special advisory had been issued to the community, and to primary health centres, sub-district hospitals and medical colleges, to treat suspected cases with certain symptoms, including Chandipura virus cases.
“Mortality rate in the disease is high and it is difficult for a patient to survive if there is a delay in getting treatment,” he said.
Paediatrician Rajesh Maheshwari said mortality was almost as high as 50%, if the patient went into coma.
“It’s very difficult to control once spread so it’s always advisable to prevent its spread. The State authorities must take it very seriously and start preventive measures in the affected areas,” Dr. Maheshwari said.
He added that spraying of pesticides in rural areas, and proper sanitation and fumigation of livestock, help in preventing the virus that’s transmitted among children in the age group of nine months to 14 years.
After suspected cases were first reported from Sabarkantha, State health authorities, as a precautionary measure, have screened over 44,000 people in 8,600 houses from across 26 residential zones.
Two patients from Sabarkantha district, three from Aravalli, one from Mahisagar and Rajkot districts each, and one from Rajasthan, are among those who have died so far while being treated in the hospitals, the Health Minister said.
The first four suspected Chandipura cases were reported in the civil hospital at Himatnagar in Sabarkantha district. Four children died on July 10. Subsequently, blood samples of the patients were sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology for confirmation, and the results are awaited.
Chandipura virus causes fever, with symptoms similar to flu, body aches, diarrhoea, vomiting and acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). The pathogen is a member of the Vesiculovirus genus of the family Rhabdoviridae. It is transmitted by vectors, including mosquitoes, ticks and sandflies.
The 2003-2004 outbreaks in central India witnessed case fatality rates ranging from 56% to 75% in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, with typical encephalitic symptoms.
