Ahmedabad: The Chandipura virus outbreak in Gujarat has claimed 27 lives in the past 45 days, the state health department said on Thursday.Minister of state for health and family welfare Praful Pansheriya said 242 suspected Chandipura cases were reported across the state, 41 were confirmed, of which 27 were fatal. Two patients were currently undergoing treatment — one at GMERS Gandhinagar and another at a private hospital in Mansa.Speaking to the media at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Pansheriya said the govt had launched an intensive containment drive in districts that reported the cases. “Door-to-door survey has been initiated to find usual spots for the sandflies to breed and children with symptoms. Mostly, the same spots are not reporting new cases,” he said.Confirmed cases were reported from Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Aravalli, Kheda, Anand, Patan, Rajkot and Bhavnagar, among other districts. However, Dr Nilam Patel, additional director (public health) of the state health department, could not be reached despite several attempts to contact him.The Union health ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have also deployed a multidisciplinary National Joint Outbreak Response Team to Gujarat and Rajasthan to assist the states in containing the outbreak.This is Gujarat’s second major Chandipura outbreak in three years, with children below 15 years particularly vulnerable to the infection. Experts said the virus was feared because of its high fatality rate.“The telltale signs include high fever, severe headache and gastrointestinal issues. Within 24 to 48 hours, it can progress into acute encephalitis, with children experiencing seizures and fits. Mostly, children are provided symptomatic treatment,” said an infectious diseases specialist.Experts said sandflies are the primary carriers of the virus. Mud huts, particularly cracks in such structures, can provide breeding and nesting sites for the insects. Health teams are conducting surveys to identify such locations, with authorities also demolishing vulnerable structures to reduce sandfly breeding and transmission.
