Child with Chandipura Virus Infection Dies in Gujarat's Sabarkantha

A six-year-old boy from Rajasthan with a confirmed Chandipura virus (CHPV) infection died at the civil hospital at Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, an official said on Thursday.

Seven suspected CHPV patients -- all children between the ages of 2 and 11 -- were admitted to the hospital between June 26 and July 9, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Vipul Jani said.

"A boy who died tested positive as per the result received on July 6. The test result of another child, who died yesterday, is awaited while the third deceased child tested negative for the virus," he said.

The deceased child with confirmed CHPV infection was identified as Rajkumar Damor (6), a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan.

Two girls -- a two-year-old from Rajasthan and a three-year-old from Sabarkantha -- with suspected Chandipura virus infection are undergoing treatment and their reports were awaited. The report of a three-year-old boy tested negative and he was discharged, Dr Jani said.

The parents of a three-year-old girl, whose report is awaited, left with her without doctors' permission.

The children were from Rajasthan as well as Banaskantha, Panchmahal and Sabarkantha districts of Gujarat, Dr Jani said.

"A dedicated ward has been set up on the ground floor for the treatment of Chandipura virus cases," the RMO said.

CHPV is a member of the Rhabdoviridae family and is known to cause sporadic cases and outbreaks of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in western, central and southern parts of India, especially during the monsoon season.

It is transmitted by sandflies, mosquitoes and ticks, among other vectors. The CFR (case fatality rate) from the CHPV infection is high (56-75 per cent) and there is no specific treatment or vaccine available.

In 2003, a large outbreak of AES was reported in Andhra Pradesh, with 329 suspected cases and 183 deaths. A study suggested CHPV was the cause.