Chandipura Virus: Along with dengue and malaria, the fear of Chandipura virus also starts spreading. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, six children have lost their lives due to this virus in just two days. At the same time, this dangerous virus has also knocked in Rajasthan. Let us tell you how dangerous this virus is, how it causes death and why it was named Chandipura virus? Let us know everything about this virus from the experts.
What is Chandipura virus?
Chandipura virus is an RNA virus of the Rhabdoviridae family, due to which children can fall prey to brain fever (encephalitis). This virus especially attacks children between 2 months to 15 years of age. At present, cases of Chandipura virus are increasing continuously in Gujarat. Initially, four cases were reported in a single hospital, but now their number has reached tens. In Gujarat, six children have died due to Chandipura virus in five days, due to which the number of cases has increased to 12. Of these, four patients are from Sabarkantha district, three from Aravali and one each from Mahisagar and Khera. Two patients are in Rajasthan and one in Madhya Pradesh.
How did this virus get its name?
During the year 1996, children between the ages of 2 months to 15 years started dying in Chandipura village in Nagpur, Maharashtra. During investigation, a virus was found to be the cause. In such a situation, the virus was named Chandipura virus after the name of the village.
How does Chandipura virus spread?
Ghaziabad based Dr. Ashish Prakash said that Chandipura virus spreads through insects and mosquitoes. This virus is a member of the Vesiculovirus family. Mosquitoes are the first to get infected by this virus and when these mosquitoes bite children, they become vulnerable to brain fever. It is believed that this virus spreads through sandflies Phlebotomus papatasi, which is found in some insects and mosquitoes. When these insects bite children, the infection spreads. However, there can be many other reasons for its infection.
What are the symptoms of Chandipura virus?
Due to Chandipura virus, children suddenly get high fever. After this, they start having seizures and vomiting, etc., due to which children feel weak. When the brain of children gets swollen due to fever, it becomes fatal.
Is there any vaccine for this virus?
When a child is affected by this virus, symptoms like fever and flu are seen first. After this, there is a problem of swelling in the brain. Due to the symptoms of the disease not being the same, no vaccine has been made so far to deal with this virus. Due to lack of treatment, this disease is considered very serious.
How is this disease treated?
Now the question arises that when there is no vaccine to deal with this virus, then how is the treatment done? Actually, this disease is treated only according to the symptoms. Initially, when the affected child has flu, then medicine is given according to the viral infection. However, the method of treatment changes when there is fever or swelling in the brain.
What is the death rate of this disease?
The death toll from this disease is very scary. If the child recovers in the beginning, then he does not have any problem. If the child’s brain gets swollen due to fever, then the death rate increases a lot. Suppose if 100 children get brain swelling, then 50 to 70 of them die. This means that it is very difficult to stop the attack of this virus.
How can we protect ourselves?
The only way to deal with this virus is prevention. For this, keep your house clean. Do not allow waterlogging under any circumstances. Also, use mosquito net while sleeping at night. Keep children wearing full sleeve clothes and protect them from insects and mosquitoes.
Where in the world have cases of this disease been found?
The first case of Chandipura virus was found in Maharashtra in 1965. After this, cases of this virus were found in many areas of Gujarat. Slowly, the havoc of this virus started appearing in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. At the same time, its name was decided for the first time during 1996. Cases of this virus are found only in India in the whole world.
What is the difference between Chandipura virus fever and Japanese fever?
Chandipura virus is caused by the bite of an infected mosquito or insect. The patient suffers from high fever, vomiting and diarrhea. The patient becomes very weak after a fever of one or two days. After this, problems like seizures, stomach pain, swelling in the brain etc. occur, which can lead to death.
Japanese encephalitis or Japanese fever is caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). JEV spreads to humans only through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Animals such as pigs, waterfowl and horses can also be infected with JEV, but they do not spread the virus to humans. In mild Japanese fever, fever and headache are the main symptoms. In case of severe infection, high fever, headache and stiffness in the neck occur. This causes the muscles of the infected person to suddenly contract. This disease also causes convulsions and in severe cases there is a possibility of paralysis.
Disclaimer: Some of the information given in the news is based on media reports. Before implementing any suggestion, please consult the concerned expert.
Also read: Chandipura virus causes panic in Gujarat, 5 children died in two days, know its symptoms
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