The Chandipura virus, which causes encephalitis, has killed at least 38 people in the country since June, making it the deadliest outbreak since 2003.
- Microbiologist Manal Mohammed warns of the current Chandipura virus outbreak in India, which has killed at least 38 people since last June.
- This virus, which belongs to the rabies family, causes encephalitis. “There are currently no antiviral drugs to treat people infected with this pathogen. And there is no vaccine.”
- The first major outbreak occurred in 2003 in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India, where 329 children tested positive for the virus and 183 of them died.
“The worst Chandipura virus outbreak in India in over 20 years.” In an article published in The Conversationmicrobiologist Manal Mohammed, of the University of Westminster in London, warns of the current spike in infections caused by the Chandipura pathogen, which has killed at least 38 people, mostly children and adolescents, since last June.
No treatment or vaccine for Chandipura virus
This virus, which belongs to the rabies family, causes encephalitis, which is inflammation and swelling of the brain. The initial symptoms are similar to those of the flu, but they can progress rapidly (between 24 and 48 hours) to encephalitis, coma and death. Children under 15 are most vulnerable. The virus is transmitted mainly by sand flies, but also by mosquitoes and ticks.
When an infected insect bites someone for blood, it secretes saliva containing the virus. The virus then spreads into the person’s bloodstream and infects their immune cells, where it replicates, undetected by the immune system. The virus is then carried to the central nervous system and enters the brain. Six hours after infection, Chandipura secretes a specific protein inside brain cells, which may explain why this virus causes death so quickly.
“There are currently no antiviral drugs to treat people infected with this pathogen. And there is no vaccine.”recalls Manal Mohammed.
Spread of the virus favored by climate change
The Chandipura virus is named after the village in Maharashtra, India, where it was first identified in 1965. But the first major outbreak didn’t occur until 2003 in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where 329 children tested positive for the virus and 183 died. Then in 2005, an outbreak in the northwestern state of Gujarat was reported, with 26 cases and a high death rate (78%). The latest outbreak, which affected more than 100 people in Gujarat, had a particularly high toll among children.
“The emergence of the Chandipura virus in India is probably linked to climate change and its spread is favoured by warming temperatures, emphasizes the microbiologist. Several insect-borne diseases have increased in recent years due to climate change. This summer, for example, India reported a high number of cases of mosquito-borne viruses, including Zika, dengue and Nipah.”