Chandipura Virus Outbreak: WHO Warns Largest Outbreak in 20 Years

According to a recent news report 43 districts in India are currently reporting AES (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome) cases while the WHO has highlighted that the current outbreak of the Chandipura virus in India is the largest in 20 years. Between early June and August 15, the Ministry of Health reported 245 cases of AES, including 82 deaths. Of these, 64 are confirmed cases of the Chandipura virus (CHPV) infection.

The WHO points out that CHPV is an endemic in India, with previous outbreaks occurring at regular intervals. However, the current outbreak is the largest in the past 20 years noted the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its Disease Outbreak news on August 23.

For the uninitiated, CHPV is a member of the Rhabdoviridae family and is known to cause sporadic cases and outbreaks of AES in western, central and southern parts of India, especially during the monsoon season. Cases are being sporadically reported across various districts as in previous outbreaks. Notably, there is a rise in CHPV outbreaks every four to five years in Gujarat.

CHPV is transmitted by vectors such as sandflies, mosquitoes and ticks. The infection rate is high (56-75 per cent) and there is no specific treatment or vaccine available for the same. However, WHO points out that survival can be increased with early access to care and intensive supportive care of patients. One way to contain this spread is to increase that surveillance efforts in high-risk areas, focusing on people at risk, such as children below 15 years of age presenting with acute onset of fever and central nervous system symptoms.

The WHO also emphasised that states and districts should ensure that laboratory diagnostic capacities are available, including timely collection, transport, and testing of serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples for serological and virological investigation at a referral laboratory.

Source: Financial Express