22 children have died of Chandipura virus infection in Gujarat: Health minister

Twenty-two children have died due to Chandipura Vesiculovirus infection in Gujarat since the first week of July, The Indian Express quoted the state’s Health Minister Praful Pansheriya as saying.

Seven patients who tested positive are undergoing treatment at various civil hospitals, while six others have recovered and been discharged.

In a statement issued on Monday, the health minister’s office said that Gujarat has registered 184 suspected Chandipura virus cases so far, the newspaper reported. Among them, 35 were confirmed as positive, while the test results of 11 suspected cases were pending as of August 3.

All those infected are below 15 years of age, The Hindu reported.

The virus, also known as the Chandipura Viral Encephalitis, is transmitted primarily by sandflies and mosquitoes, including the Aedes aegypti species that bite during the day and is also known to spread dengue. The infection can lead to encephalitis, or the inflammation of the active tissues of the brain.

Children under the age of 15 years are most susceptible to the virus. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, altered sensorium, convulsions, diarrhoea, neurological deficit and meningeal irritation.

Pansheriya said on Monday that children admitted to hospitals at Gandhinagar, Himmatnagar, Patan, Rajkot and Bhavnagar are being given specialised treatment, The Hindu reported.

The minister said that the cases are not restricted to a particular place or village in the state.

He also...

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