Gujarat health dept ramps up surveillance to tackle Chandipura virus infection in view of 22 deaths

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government's health department has stepped up surveillance and rapid response measures to prevent any further fatality due to Chandipura virus, which has claimed the lives of 22 children during the ongoing monsoon season, officials said Tuesday.

Of 184 suspected infection cases reported in the state during the season, 35 persons have tested positive and 22 of them have died, Health Minister Praful Panseriya has said earlier.

These 22 deceased children were below 15 years of age, including babies, according to him.

State Health Department's Additional Chief Secretary, Rajeev Topno, said, "Since no antidote has been developed yet for the Chandipura virus, we have ramped up surveillance and rapid response measures, and geared up health services to minimise deaths as much as possible. Our entire system is fully mobilised."

Dr Mehul Gosai, Head of the Pediatric Department of Sir T Hospital, a government hospital at Bhavnagar, said that patients suspected of Chandipura virus exhibited symptoms such as high fever, headache, and seizure and remain in a semi-conscious state.

"On July 28, a nine-month-old infant was admitted to Sir T Hospital following a positive report from the Gandhinagar GBRC lab. The infant received intensive care in the pediatric department and was successfully treated and discharged," he said.

Out of 13 suspected cases that have been admitted in the hospital, three turned positive for the virus, one of whom died, he said.

As per the government directive, all the samples of suspected Chandipura virus cases are being sent to Gandhinagar-based Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) for lab examination.

Medical Superintendent In-charge of Bhavnagar-based Sir T Hospital, Dr Kervi Desai, said that reports of samples sent to the lab are received within two days.

As per the authorities, the cases that have been reported are coming from different districts and not concentrated in a particular village.

Health teams are spraying pesticides in areas where animal husbandry is practised to target sandflies, which are responsible for spreading the encephalitis virus, he said.

Government and private paediatric facilities have been instructed to admit patients with symptoms of the virus to ICU beds with oxygen and ventilator facilities and not delay treatment so that serious conditions like multiple organ failure can be prevented, he said.

Chandipura encephalitis is a viral disease that spreads mainly by sandflies and other insects and causes inflammation of the brain.

The virus was first isolated from a patient from Chandipura village in Nagpur district of Maharashtra in 1965.