2 children from Rajasthan die of Chandipura virus: What is the infection and who is susceptible to it?

📌 Summary:

• Two girls from Rajasthan died during treatment in Gujarat after testing positive for Chandipura virus (CHPV); Rajasthan is stepping up surveillance in bordering districts (Dungarpur, Sirohi, Udaipur)
• Current outbreak: 9 confirmed CHPV deaths (7 Gujarat, 2 Rajasthan) as of July 24; cases often reported in the monsoon
• CHPV belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family (which also includes the rabies lyssavirus); vectors include Phlebotomine sandflies and some mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti (also the dengue vector)
• The virus resides in vectors' salivary glands and is transmitted via bites; it can reach the central nervous system and cause encephalitis (brain inflammation)
• Symptoms start flu-like (fever, body ache, headache) and can progress to altered sensorium, seizures, encephalitis; may cause death within 24-48 hours of hospitalisation; susceptibility largely limited to children under 15
• No specific antiviral therapy or vaccine exists — only symptomatic management; first isolated in 1965 (Maharashtra); major 2003-04 outbreak in Maharashtra, north Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh killed 300+ children (case fatality rate ~78% in Gujarat 2004); endemic to central India's rural, tribal, peripheral areas

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Chandipura virus: family Rhabdoviridae; vectors — sandflies (Phlebotomus) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti)
• Causes encephalitis; mainly affects children under 15; no vaccine/specific treatment; first isolated 1965 in Maharashtra

🔑 Key Term: Encephalitis — inflammation of the active tissues of the brain, a severe complication of Chandipura virus infection that can be rapidly fatal