Second Chandipura Virus Death Confirmed in Gujarat: What You Need to Know

The Vadodara District Health Department declared their first casualty of the Chandipura virus was a four-year-old girl and the second one was from the Manipura village of Gujrat a a six-year-old boy from Savli who had died on July 1 in hospital. Savli was brought to SSG Hospital in the early morning of July 1. He was diagnosed with fever, convulsions, and unconsciousness within 10 hours of admission to the hospital he died. 14 other patients also died due to suspected

Chandipura virus is an arbovirus that belongs to the Vesiculovirus genus in the Rhabdoviridae family. It was first discovered in Chandipura village of Maharashtra in 1965 and communicates the disease through vectors like phlebotomine sandflies, mosquitoes, and ticks. In 2003-04 outbreak in central India 322 child deaths: 183 in Andhra Pradesh, 115 in Maharashtra, and 24 in Gujarat. The fatality rate was 56% in Andhra Pradesh to 75% in Gujarat. Bhupendra Patel (Chief Minister of Gujrat) reviewed the current status of the case and has started to take measures.

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The symptoms of the disease are

• Headache: A severe headache is felt by patients
• Fever: High fever is observed Frequent vomiting
• Coma: This can result in coma and death if not treated early and properly
• Convulsions: Patients get seizures or convulsions.

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The treatment for the Virus is

There is no antiretroviral therapy or vaccine for the disease so it is crucial to manage brain inflammation to prevent death. It is important to ensure proper hydration, especially in cases where vomiting is severe. Anticonvulsants are necessary to be done to control seizures.

Medical superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Dr Rakesh Joshi SAID the outbreaks are often reported in rural, tribal, and peripheral areas, and the same may have a correlation with the prevalence of sandflies in these areas, as quoted in a report by The Indian Express

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