Gujarat Chandipura Virus Outbreak: 22 Children Die, 35 Cases Confirmed

At least 22 children have died from the Chandipura virus in Gujarat during the ongoing monsoon season. Out of 184 suspected infections across the state, 35 cases have tested positive, Health Minister Praful Panseriya said on Monday, as reported by PTI.

Panseriya said: "A total of 184 suspected cases have been registered in the state so far, out of which 35 cases have tested positive and the results of 11 samples are still pending."

The viral outbreak exclusively affects the young. Every patient identified in the current wave is under 15 years of age.

Medical Response and Containment

Seven infected children are currently receiving medical care at civil hospitals in districts including Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Sabarkantha-Himmatnagar, Patan and Bhavnagar.

State authorities have urgently directed both private and government paediatric centres to immediately admit symptomatic children to ICU beds equipped with oxygen support and ventilators. This action aims to prevent severe complications such as multiple organ failure.

Infections remain scattered across multiple districts rather than concentrated in a single village. Civic teams are actively spraying pesticides in zones where animal husbandry is common. These measures specifically target sandflies, the primary insects responsible for transmitting the encephalitis virus.

Virus History and Severity

The current outbreak presents a severe mortality rate of approximately 62.9 per cent among confirmed patients, given the 22 fatalities from 35 positive cases. This lethality matches the devastating central Indian epidemic of 2003 to 2004, which recorded overall case fatality rates between 56 per cent and 75 per cent, peaking at 78 per cent specifically in Gujarat.

Recent years have avoided such large-scale health crises. Unlike the major epidemics of 2003-2004 and 2026, the year 2019 recorded only sporadic paediatric fatalities in locations like Vadodara and Yavatma.

The Chandipura virus is an insect-borne pathogen that triggers dangerous brain inflammation. Medical researchers first isolated the virus in 1965 from a patient located in Nagpur, Maharashtra.