India: 2026 Chandipura virus

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Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/st...at-this-monsoon-seven-under-treatment-4097878
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22 children die of Chandipura virus in Gujarat this monsoon, seven under treatmentAll patients are under 15 years of age, State Health Minister Praful Panseriya added.
PTI
Last Updated 03 August 2026, 21:23 IST​

Ahmedabad: As many as 22 children have died due to Chandipura virus (CHPV) in Gujarat this monsoon season, with 35 cases testing positive out of 184 suspected infections, State Health Minister Praful Panseriya said on Monday.


Seven patients remain under treatment across civil hospitals in Gandhinagar, Rajkot, and other districts, and government and private paediatric facilities have been instructed to immediately admit symptomatic patients to ICU beds to prevent organ failure, he said.

"A total of 184 suspected cases have been registered in the state so far, out of which 35 cases have tested positive and the results of 11 samples are still pending," Panseriya said.​...

 

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Source: https://english.newstrack.com/amp/h...utbreak-25-deaths-transmission-unclear-622574


Twenty Five Deaths In, Scientists Still Cannot Pin Down How Chandipura Virus Is Spreading
More than two months into a fresh Chandipura virus outbreak that has already killed 25 children in Gujarat, scientists still do not know exactly how the virus is spreading, forcing investigators to widen their search from insects to farm animals in an effort to crack a mystery that has stumped researchers since the disease's last major outbreak in 2024.
By : Adya Shree Upadhyay
Update: 2026-08-13 07:03 GMT

As of August 10, Gujarat had recorded 225 suspected cases of Chandipura Virus Disease, of which 39 were confirmed positive, with cases also reported from neighbouring Rajasthan. The Union Health Ministry has since deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team, bringing together experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, to strengthen the investigation into what officials are calling one of the most comprehensive scientific probes into the virus in recent years.

Sandflies have long been recognised as the primary vector for Chandipura virus, with peer reviewed studies spanning five decades confirming molecular detection of the virus in sandflies of the genus Sergentomyia across earlier outbreaks in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Yet in the current outbreak, as in the deadly 2024 episode that killed at least 60 children in Gujarat and three more in Rajasthan, testing of sandfly samples has repeatedly come back negative, leaving the exact transmission chain unconfirmed even as the disease continues to claim young lives. Samples from mosquitoes and ticks, both also examined as possible carriers, have similarly failed to yield a positive result.

With the usual suspects turning up empty handed, investigators have now expanded testing to domestic animals that could potentially serve as viral reservoirs. Around 70 blood samples from cattle, buffaloes and goats, along with milk samples, have been collected from affected areas and are currently being analysed alongside the continuing vector testing. Health officials have been careful to stress that no conclusions should be drawn from this expanded animal surveillance until laboratory investigations are fully complete, cautioning against premature theories about how the virus might be moving from animals or their environment to the children who make up the vast majority of its victims...


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