Is Bangalore in the grip of chikungunya?

[AlaskaDenise]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1482202.cms

BANGALORE: The Aedes aegypti mosquito that causes chikungunya now seems to have bitten Bangaloreans. At least 15 persons, suspected to be suffering from the viral infection, have been admitted to the Epidemic Diseases (ED) Hospital here.

Some were referred to the KC General Hospital. The patients were brought to the hospital from slums in Sanjay Nagar on Thursday. They had symptoms of high fever, severe pain in the joints and in some cases red eyes.

Their blood samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Victoria Hospital for serological confirmation. The directorate of health and family welfare said there has been an outbreak in the city and that healthcare experts are on alert.

At the ED Hospital, patients were provided with mosquito nets and treated with anti-inflammatory and analgesics. "Some who have secondary infection are treated with antibiotics. This disease is not fatal. Nor is it contagious.

But, we don't have any specific drug to treat the infected. We only treat them for symptoms of pain and fever. The infection goes down automatically," said institute director Dr C R Thyagaraja.

According to senior officials in the health and family welfare directorate, the disease could have spread because of long storage of drinking water by the residents.

"We are told that the supply of water is only once every two days and many residents prefer to store water in huge containers. Water is stored for weeks together. This could have been a fine breeding ground for the mosquito.

The situation was similar in other districts," said Dr Prasad M G, director, health and family welfare. Virologists say the diagnosis of the disease is not easy even through blood tests.

"It took two months for a Pune institute to confirm the disease when it was first detected in Gulbarga. Apparently, mapping this strain isn't easy and at times it's too vague," Dr Prasad said.

At least 80,000 people in Gulbarga, Tumkur, Bidar, Raichur, Bellary, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Kolar and Bijapur are affected since December 2005.

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[emmysue]

Re: Is Bangalore in the grip of chikungunya?

?Chikungunya strikes NK, people alarmed
Saturday April 8 2006 14:52 IST
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE120060408043052&Page=1&Title=Bangalore&Topic=0&

BANGALORE: A day after the State Government conceded that the mosquito-borne ?Chikungunya? had affected at least 36,000 people in nine northern districts, at least a dozen suspected cases were reported in Government Epidemic Hospital here on Friday.

Though the hospital authorities remained tight-lipped over the exact number of patients and their whereabouts, Director of Health Services M.G.Prasad informed that as many as 12 people from northern districts had come to the hospital.

However, preliminary tests revealed that they were suffering from fever and they had rushed here alarmed that they may be suffering ?Chikungunya,? he added.

The hospital authorities collected blood samples and have sent them to National Institute of Virology in Pune. Though there is a similar institute in Bangalore, only the Pune one can determine if it is ?Chikungunya? or not, Prasad said.

It would take at least two months to get the results of the tests. Prasad appealed to the public not to panic, as the disease was not fatal and can cause only minor discomfort. According to the Health Department, it is prevalent in Bidar, Raichur and Gulbarga districts.

Chickungunya is caused by a virus and came to the notice of health authorities only recently. It is spread by mosquito - Adges Egypati. The first incidence of the disease was reported in 1963 and only now after nearly 43 years, has it struck once again.

The mosquitoes are active in the daytime and breed in fresh water. Health officials said water bodies contain more of this species than others. They can breed even in small amounts of water such as in kitchen utensils. They are found more in villages than cities.

Normally, a person complains of fever within seven days of being bitten. The symptoms are high fever, severe body pain and headache, pain in the joints and conjunctivitis.

The disease can be tackled by common antibiotics like Crocin, Brufen and Nice. It is a ?self-limiting disease?, which will last for a week like a common cold or fever.