Kyasanur Forest Disease Infected Youth in Wayanad

14 May 2013
Thiruvananthapuram

A case of the Kyasanur forest disease, a viral disease transmitted to human beings through a species of ticks usually found on monkeys, has been reported from the Noolpuzha-Aalathoor colony in Wayanad district. The 18-year-old patient now at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, is reportedly out of the critical state.

The disease has been found in Shimoga, the district where it was first detected in 1957, Dakshina Kannada, Chikmagalur and in Karnataka.The infection, which starts with high fever and body ache, produces a haemorrhagic reaction in the body, similar to that produced by dengue fever, and has a mortality rate of five per cent to 10 per cent.

“We detected the case through active fever surveillance and it was first taken for dengue fever. When the blood test was negative for dengue and there was no response to antibiotics, the samples were sent to Manipal Hospital and the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Both institutes have confirmed it to be a case of the Kyasanur forest disease,”Wayanad District Surveillance Officer Srikumar Mukundan said.

Information provided by the Indian Council for Medical Research says the virus is a highly pathogenic member in the family Flaviviridae, which causes dengue and yellow fever. The pathogen was named after the forest area where it was first detected in 1957.Health officials said that they did not expect more cases because the infected nymphs of the ticks were active through January to May. Once the rains start, the ticks remain dormant in the forest litter. They come alive post-monsoon when the temperature starts rising.

Source – http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/youth-gets-kyasanur-disease-in-wayanad/article4712468.ece

Found Useful? Do Share: Kyasanur Forest Disease Infected Youth in Wayanad: