look news india
Chandipura virus: Four children have died of Chandipura virus infection in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district and two others are undergoing treatment, an official said. Both the children have been admitted to the civil hospital in Himmatnagar in the district. Chandipura virus causes fever with flu-like symptoms. It causes severe encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). The virus is a member of the Vesiculovirus genus of the Rhabdoviridae family. It is spread by mosquitoes, sand flies and insects. Measures to protect children from this virus are similar to those for malaria prevention. It is important to maintain cleanliness in and around the house and do not let children come in contact with mosquitoes or flies. Make the child sleep inside a mosquito net.
Sabarkantha chief district health officer Raj Sutaria said blood samples of all the six children have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for confirmation and their results are awaited. He said paediatricians at the Himmatnagar civil hospital had suspected the role of the Chandipura virus after the death of four children on July 10.
Two children suspected of infection
Sutaria said that two other children admitted in the hospital also had similar symptoms. They also seem to be infected with the same virus. He told that out of the four children who died so far, one was from Sabarkantha district and two were from neighboring Aravalli district. One child was from Rajasthan. He told that both the children undergoing treatment in the hospital are also from Rajasthan. Sutaria said that the authorities in Rajasthan have been informed about the death of the child due to suspected viral infection.
Administration in Action
Sutaria said, “We have sent all the six samples, including the samples of the four dead children, to NIV in Pune.” Officials said the district administration has deployed teams in the affected areas to take precautionary measures by killing mosquitoes to prevent the spread of the infection.