Kyasanur forest disease
GS PAPER II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Context: ICMR-NIV develops new point-of-care testing for Kyasanur forest disease.
About Point-of-care test:
- The point-of-care test would be useful in quick patient management and controlling further spread of the virus.
- It has been found to be highly sensitive in the rapid diagnosis of Kyasanur forest disease (KFD), also known as monkey fever, which is an emerging public health problem in the country.
- This point-of-care tests would be beneficial for the diagnosis of KFD as the outbreaks mainly happen in remote areas, where there is lack of well-equipped sample handling and laboratory testing facilities.
- It includes a battery-operated PCR analyser, which is a portable, lightweight and universal cartridge-based sample pre-treatment kit and nucleic acid extraction device that aid in sample processing at the point of care.
About Kyasanur Forest disease:
- This disease was first identified in Kyasanur forest of Shimoga district in Karnataka during an investigation of monkey mortalities in 1957.
- It is a zoonotic disease.
- The disease is caused by a Kyasanur Forest disease virus, which primarily affects humans and monkeys.
- In nature, the virus is maintained mainly in hard ticks, monkeys, rodents and birds and transmitted via the bite of Haemaphysalis ticks and contact with carcasses of dead monkeys.
- The disease is characterised by chills, frontal headache, body ache, and high fever for five to 12 days with a case fatality rate of 3 to 5 per cent.
Incidence in India
- Since its identification in 1957 and up to 2012, sporadic cases and several outbreaks of KFD have been reported every year, especially in five districts of Karnataka with average cases of about 400 to 500 per year.
- After 2012, the presence of KFD has also been reported from adjoining states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.
- Eventually, KFD emerged as a grave public health problem spreading through the entire Western Ghats.
Threat to humans:
- Humans can get the disease form an infected tick bite or by contact with an infected animal, such as sick or recently dead monkey.
- Available epidemiological data does not suggest any human-to-human transmission.
- However, human cases have been reported in the past while working on this virus in the laboratory.
Treatment:
- No specific treatment for KFD is available; however, prompt symptomatic and supportive therapy including maintenance of hydration, hemodynamic stability and management of neurological symptoms decreases morbidity and mortality.
Vaccination
- There is limited availability of information on KFD vaccine for human use in India. State Government of Karnataka is following KFD vaccination policy in the KFD endemic area.
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