Ahmedabad: With the onset of the monsoon, the Chandipura virus has resurfaced in Gujarat, claiming three lives and infecting six children so far.Health department sources revealed that a three-year-old girl from Sabarkantha died at a govt hospital on Friday, with her sample sent for lab confirmation as a suspected fourth casualty.On Saturday, two more children, aged one and four, were shifted from Kheda to Gandhinagar Civil Hospital with suspected symptoms. Their reports are currently pending.ACS (health and family welfare) Rajiv Topno said, “We are taking preventive action including surveillance, intra-residential spray, cleanliness, mud wall filling, and communication of local IMA officials about any suspected case that can be taken to tertiary care hospitals based on symptoms.”Dr Nilam Patel, additional director (public health), stated that drawing from the 2024 outbreak data, an intensive containment drive was launched across 61 villages in 21 districts on Friday. “A door-to-door survey is underway, and villagers are being sensitised about the signs and symptoms of the infection,” Dr Patel said.According to officials, almost all cases are concentrated in North Gujarat and the eastern tribal belt. Transmitted primarily through the bite of infected sand flies, the virus causes acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). Its primary symptoms include high-grade fever and epileptic convulsions due to neurological impact. Gujarat was among the worst-hit states during the 2024 outbreak.
