Chandipura Virus (CHPV):
Nine deaths, including two young girls from Rajasthan receiving treatment in Gujarat, have been confirmed due to the Chandipura virus (CHPV) outbreak.
- The Chandipura virus (CHPV) is an acute vector-borne pathogen belonging to the Rhabdoviridae family (the same family as the rabies-causing Lyssavirus). It is transmitted to humans via insect bites and causes AcuteEncephalitis Syndrome (AES)—a rapid, life-threatening inflammation of active brain tissues.
- First isolated in 1965 from human serum samples during an outbreak of dengue/chikungunya-like fever in Chandipura village, Maharashtra, India.
- Caused major child mortality outbreaks in 2003–2004 across Maharashtra, Northern Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, with case fatality rates (CFR) ranging from 55% to 78%.
- Endemic to central and western India (particularly rural, tribal, and peripheral regions of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh) where sandfly breeding conditions thrive.
- Spread primarily through the bites of infected female Phlebotomine sandflies (Phlebotomus papatasi) and select mosquito species (Aedes aegypti). The virus resides in the salivary glands of these vectors.
- Almost exclusively targets children below 15 years of age, whose developing central nervous systems are highly vulnerable to viral encephalitis.
- Characterized by an unusually rapid progression. Onset begins with sudden high fever, severe headache, body ache, and vomiting, escalating within hours to seizures, altered sensorium, brain inflammation, and potential mortality within 24 to 48 hours of hospital admission.
- Outbreak cycles peak during the monsoon season due to increased sandfly breeding in cracked mud walls, cattle sheds, and unpaved (kutcha) rural housing structures.
- Does not transmit directly from human to human through respiratory droplets or physical contact.
- There is currently no approved antiviral drug or preventive vaccine available for Chandipura virus infection.
- Treatment relies strictly on emergency supportive care in intensive care units (ICUs).
