ICMR Team Deployed to Gujarat Over Chandipura Virus Outbreak
ICMR Director General Dr. Rajiv Bahl said the team is working with state authorities and other experts to understand the disease, control its spread and explore possible treatment approaches
NEW DELHI: A national team of experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been deployed to Gujarat to investigate the Chandipura virus outbreak and strengthen the response to the disease.
ICMR Director General Dr. Rajiv Bahl said the team is working with state authorities and other experts to understand the disease, control its spread and explore possible treatment approaches.
Bahl said Chandipura outbreaks have occurred several times in the past, with the latest major outbreak reported about two years ago. He added that ICMR teams have been studying the disease in Gujarat for the past two years to understand its causes and patterns.
“Several new things are being done there to understand, control and then eventually even treat the disease,” Bahl said.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to Gujarat and Rajasthan to strengthen the response to the outbreak.
The response is being supported by disease surveillance under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), coordinated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) along with state surveillance units.
The NCDC Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has also been activated to support the NJORT.
According to the World Health Organisation, Chandipura virus belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family and is associated with acute encephalitis syndrome, particularly among children. It is transmitted by vectors including sandflies, mosquitoes and ticks.
The disease can begin with fever and may progress to convulsions, coma and, in severe cases, death. Previous Chandipura outbreaks in India have recorded case-fatality rates of 56 to 75 per cent, according to WHO.