This is the third year in a row when Sindhudurg district has reported a KFD outbreak. (Photo for representation purpose/AP file)
An outbreak of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), or monkey fever — a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic fever — has been reported in Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra. The cases have been reported from Dodamarg and Sawantwadi tehsils of the district.
Since January this year, the state has seen 62 cases, and two deaths, due to the disease.
This is the third year in a row when Sindhudurg district has reported a KFD outbreak.
A study by the National Institute of Virology, in 2016, helped confirm that these outbreaks were due to KFD. “These investigations have helped us adopt a KFD vaccination strategy. As many as 50,000 people have been vaccinated against the disease since January this year,” Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, told The Indian Express.
Last year, 212 cases and 12 deaths due to KFD were reported from Maharashtra, while 129 cases and seven deaths were reported the year before that.
Dr D M Chavan, additional commissioner, Department of Animal Husbandry (Maharashtra), told The Indian Express that their officials received information about the death of 23 monkeys between December last year and March this year.
“… The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology and the reports are awaited,” said Chavan.
The state health, forest and animal husbandry departments have been coordinating on several measures, such as fever surveillance, tick-control measures and awareness programmes.