Prevent Chandipura Virus: Tips for Healthy Living - Health

A senior health officer in Gandhinagar said that the suspected deaths due to the virus has reached up to 14 out of 29 cases . The death includes patients who came from outside the state including neighbouring Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

 These are all suspected cases except the one which has been confirmed positive . Since children are dying and looking at the severity of the spread , we have deployed teams to create awareness . A meeting with the health minister is also scheduled to be held on Thursday in this regard , the officer told DH.

Prevent Chandipura Virus: Tips for Healthy Living

The 15 suspected deaths have been reported from Aravalli ( 3 , of which one case has been confirmed , Sabarkantha ( 2 ) , Morbi ( 2 ) , one each in Mahisagar , Mehsana , Gandhinagar , Panchmahal , Rajkot , Surendranagar , among others . So far , 14 districts and cities of Gujarat have reported the suspected cases . According to a health bulletin issued by the state government , two patients , each from Udaipur in Rajasthan and Dhar in Madhya Pradesh , have also died.

The National Institute of Virology ( NIV ) in Pune confirmed the first death of a four - year - old girl died of Chandipura virus while the death toll of suspected cases has gone to 15 as the virus has spread in almost a dozen districts of the State now.

 On Wednesday , as per the State health departments figures , total 29 suspected cases have been reported from the State so far out of 15 children have died.

As of Wednesday , 15 deaths have been reported out of which one is confirmed due to the Chandipura virus while others are suspected but symptoms are all similar in all cases so its assumed that all cases are the same , a Heath department official said . The officials in the Health Department and doctors in the government hospitals believe that the cases would surge in days to come as the virus has spread in more districts and even in cities like Ahmedabad where one child died in the civil hospital on Wednesday.

Of the 29 cases , 26 are from Gujarat , two from Rajasthan , and one case from Madhya Pradesh . Of the 15 deaths , 13 are from the State while one each from the neighbouring States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan . In Gujarat , cases have been reported from Sabarkantha , Aravali , Mehsana , Rajkot , Ahmedabad city , Morbi , Panchmahal , and others . We have launched the preventive measures in affected districts , have done screening of 51,725 people and dusting and fumigating are being conducted , said the Health Minister Rushikesh Patel.

Chandipura virus causes fever , with symptoms similar to flu , 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 like mosquitoes , ticks , and sandflies . The 2003 - 2004 outbreaks in central India witnessed case fatality rates ranging from 56 - 75 % in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat with typical encephalitic symptoms.