Three children die of Chandipura virus in Gujarat in latest outbreak; 4 under treatment

Gandhinagar, Jul 13 (PTI) Gujarat has reported seven confirmed cases of the Chandipura virus (CHPV) in the last few weeks, of which three patients have died, while four are under medical treatment, Health Minister Praful Pansheriya said on Monday. All the patients were under the age of 10, he said. The minister, who chaired a high-level meeting in Gandhinagar to review the CHPV outbreak in the state, said blood sample reports of eight suspected patients of the virus are still awaited. The health department is continuously working towards control of the virus, treatment of patients and surveillance operations, he maintained. The 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. "Blood samples of 27 suspected patients of the virus were earlier sent for testing. Of these, reports of seven came positive, while 12 tested negative. Results of eight patients are pending and they are expected by this evening (Monday). Of the seven confirmed cases, three patients have died, while four patients - two each in Gandhinagar and Vadnagar (Mehsana district) -- are under treatment," he informed. The health department is taking the help of the Indian Medical Association, and child specialists of Gujarat have been asked to work in coordination to deal with the outbreak, Pansheriya said. "Doctors running small health centres and private clinics have been instructed that if they come across suspicious cases, they should not waste time and immediately admit patients and provide oxygen and ventilator facilities to them so that precious lives can be saved," he stated. The minister further said that in 2024, cases of Chandipura virus were reported from 61 places in the state, where the health department undertook fogging operations to prevent mosquito, sand fly breeding and launched public awareness programmes. "No new case has been reported from any of these 61 places. Even in the new areas where patients have been found, the administration has immediately carried out fogging, spraying and sanitisation to kill sandflies that spread the disease," he said. Adequate quantities of medicine and necessary medical supplies have been made available to even the smallest health centres in the state to prevent the spread of the virus, Pansheriya added. The virus was first isolated from a patient in Chandipura village in Nagpur district of Maharashtra in 1965. PTI KA RSY