Toddler from Rajasthan succumbs to Chandipura Virus at Ahmedabad hospital

Jaipur: Rajasthan has reported the second death from the state due to the Chandipura Virus after a two-year-old girl from Shahpura district died during treatment at a hospital in Ahmedabad, health officials confirmed on Friday.

The deceased toddler's uncle Ramlal said that Ishika had fever on August 4 following which she was admitted to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Kothiya. When the girl's health did not improve, she was shifted to a private hospital at Vijaynagar, Ajmer, on August 5.

However, as her health condition deteriorated further, she was referred to a private hospital in Ahmedabad on the same day.

On August 7, the girl's report for Chandipura Virus returned positive. She died during treatment on Thursday night. The deceased hailed from Itadia village in Shahpura district.

On Friday morning, a medical team along with her family members brought the toddler's body wrapped in a PPE kit to the village, where she was cremated as per Covid-19 protocols in the presence of the concerned officials.

Ishika's father Hemraj is a farmer. She was the youngest of three siblings. Her two elder brothers, Vinod (14) and Vivaan (5), are also running mild fever and their samples have been sent to Udaipur for examination.

Now Health Department teams are conducting door-to-door surveys in the village.

CMHO C.P. Goswami, meanwhile, has asked people to maintain cleanliness in their houses.

"Dengue and malaria spread through mosquitoes during the rainy season. These days, there is also an outbreak of Chandipura Virus. This virus belongs to the Adeno family and the reason for its spread is the sand fly.

"We are repeatedly requesting the general public to maintain cleanliness around their houses so that flies do not breed and the infection does not spread. After the death of a toddler in Shahpura district, all necessary preparations have been made in Bhilwara. An advisory has also been issued," he said.

The first case of death due to Chandipura Virus in the state was reported from Udaipur dustrict. Himanshu (3), a resident of Balicha village, succumbed to the virus at a civil hospital in Gujarat on June 27.

Chandipura Virus affects mostly children and is characterised by influenza-like illness and neurologic dysfunctions. It is transmitted by vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks and sand flies. An effective real-time one step reverse-transcriptase PCR assay method is adopted for diagnosis of this virus.