Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

[Okieman]

Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh
October 22nd, 2009 - 5:56 pm ICT by IANS

Bhopal, Oct 22 (IANS) A mysterious viral fever which causes a drop in platelet counts and has dengue-like symptoms is baffling doctors in Madhya Pradesh, officials said Thursday.
The spread of the mysterious disease has become a cause of concern for the medical fraternity and for citizens. Doctors say that this unknown viral strain causes a steep fall in leukocyte and thrombocyte counts as well.

?This mysterious viral strain needs to be researched as it is making platelet and leukocyte counts plummet, though all test reports for dengue are coming negative,? Bhopal District Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Deepesh Verma told IANS.

Recently a team of doctors from Delhi also visited the state after the health department here wrote to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), requesting it to send a team of doctors to study this unidentified viral strain. The health authorities also requested for help in diagnosing and treating this mysterious viral fever effectively.

However, guidelines are yet to come in from the team of doctors that visited the state last week, sources in the health directorate said. Things have reached such a point that private hospitals in the state capital have put up boards stating that beds are not available, a health official said.

?I have never seen an outbreak of this kind of disease in my medical career spanning more than three decades. While the number of dengue cases is increasing by the day, this new virus which is yet to be identified has made things more complex,? Yogesh Malhotra, a prominent city doctor, told IANS.

[snip]

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal...ral-fever-grips-madhya-pradesh_100264172.html

 

[Okieman]

Re: Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

Comment: Not saying that the mystery disease mentioned above is Bird Flu (H5N1), but as is mentioned below as occurring in Turkey during the outbreak there "decreased leukocyte and thrombocyte counts" have been associated with Bird Flu. There may be other diseases which would also have this effect. It sounds like Dengue does, but they have determined something other than dengue (this mystery virus) is also causing disease. Worth paying attention to what could develop here.


Avian influenza outbreak in Turkey through health personnel's views: a qualitative study

[snip]
Avian influenza infection as a new and unknown disease

Indeed, avian influenza infection was perceived as new and unknown disease by health care providers a consulted paediatrician from Dogubeyazit Government Hospital explained as: " On December 31st, my colleague called and said that there were 'some patients in here who've been coming for three days now, and their conditions are very serious'. The chest x-ray was very bad, decreased leukocyte and thrombocyte counts in the laboratory analyses. I said it was possibly a viral disease (...); 'an epidemic, if four people have caught it. There is little that we can do here because of Dogubeyazit's limited facilities. We have to refer them to the University Hospital.' (...)".

[snip]
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/330

 

[alert]

Re: Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

See this thread here:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129083

Shiloh has posted a few articles relating to this. Might be a new sutype of dengue, might also be chikungunya, which has been reported as simliar to dengue in presentation.

Likely to be mosquito borne as well, as it is occurring simultaneous to a large dengue outbreak.

H5N1 is unlikely here, as there is lots of illness, but no reports of any fatalities yet. The lack of fatalitites seems to suggest (to me anyway) chikungunya.

 

[Okieman]

Re: Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

Thanks Alert.

There have been reports of deaths from dengue. See here:
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...to-die-down-in-mp-claims-7-in-15-days_1297640

But I've seen none specifically from this mystery viral fever.

It was the "steep fall in leukocyte and thrombocyte counts" which caught my eye. I seemed to remember this being an issue with H5N1. I went looking and found the paper quoted up above. Maybe there are several diseases which do this, but I don't think so. I seem to remember reading, over the past years following H5N1, that this somewhat unique and particular to bird flu. But, I very well could be wrong. My mind is like a bucket, in which I like putting lots of stuff, but it leaks out about as fast as I put it in. Sometimes things stick to the side though, and I can recall what was put there.

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

It seems like after the rains, and flooding there's been an increase in all sorts of 'fever'.

Two sisters die of fever

VIZIANAGARAM: Bommi Sandhya, (10), and her sister Bommi Shanti, (8), daughters of Bommi Ramappadu, resident of Aithamvalasa village in Gadabavalasa panchayat in Garividi mandal, died of fever in a gap of few hours on Tuesday night.

While Shanti died on the way to hospital in Srikakulam, Sandhya succumbed while undergoing treatment a few hours later.

According to unconfirmed reports, some 10 to 15 people are suffering from fever in the village. ?Correspondent
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/22/stor...2253970400.htm

and

Rise in viral fevers among children

Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao

Warangal is witnessing strange weather conditions
?Children admitted to hospitals with complaints of rashes, high temperature and anaemia?
?In the absence of correct diagnoses, doctors administering symptomatic treatment?


WARANGAL: Majority of the hospitals treating children are full to the capacity, a situation that demands immediate attention of the State government and medical experts.

Unusual weather conditions seem to have triggered viral fevers on a large scale with scores of children being admitted to the hospital with such complaints. With the onset of monsoon complaints of diarrhoea, cough, cold and fevers are common.

?The preliminary diagnosis indicates dengue or unknown viral fever. There are no epidemiological studies conducted regularly, therefore no proper diagnosis is being made,? explained senior paediatrician Dr. M Seshu Madhav.

According to him, majority of the children are being admitted to hospitals with complaints of rashes, high temperature and anaemia. In the absence of correct diagnoses, the doctors were administering symptomatic treatment which is curative but not preventive.

The district is witnessing strange weather conditions with delayed monsoon. After a few spells of rain, intense heat waves are lashing the district now with morning temperatures soaring.

Mortality rate

However, the mortality rate among the fever patients in adults is very high than those among the infants. ?The adults opt for treatment after trying out their own methods or may not show indications of fever for the first few days. By the time, they visit a doctor, they are in advanced stage of fever,? explained Dr. Seshu Madhav.

The senior paediatrician opines that a centre should be established in Warangal to study the viruses causing the diseases which are peculiar to the region.

Drastic change in weather conditions and fast depleting forest cover may have let the virus that hitherto confined to wild animals, prey the human beings.

?A full fledged centre for virology studies and serious research on epidemics will reveal more that can help prevent deaths,? Mr Seshu Madhav opined.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/21/stor...2153460300.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

From Tamil Nadu;

Fever cases on the rise

Shastry V. Mallady

PHCs in the district on alert

MADURAI: Amid a fear of chikungunya outbreak in various pockets of Madurai district, Health Department officials on Thursday confirmed that there has been an at least 15 per cent increase in viral fever cases during this month in the district compared to last month.

The number of out-patient (OP) cases coming with viral fever is on the rise in both rural and urban areas but it could not be confirmed as chikungunya , according to A. Palanichamy, Deputy Director of Health Services, Madurai district.

?Normally, fever cases shoot up during this season, particularly in September-October. Only some cases had been confirmed as chikungunya while the rest were normal viral fever,? he said. Tests were conducted at the Microbiology Department laboratory in Madurai Medical College.

Simultaneously, the department had taken steps to increase fogging operations in all the 13 blocks in the district to combat mosquitoes that are the root cause for chikungunya and dengue fever. Dr. Palanichamy said that symptomatic treatment was being given to patients because both viral fever and chikungunya have the same symptom of acute body pain for a period of minimum one week.
The primary health centres (PHC) in the district were on alert to provide effective treatment. Adequate funds were being made available in time from Village Sanitation Committee resources to carry out anti-mosquito operation. Also, 130 ?mazdoors? had been appointed by the Health Department on a temporary basis to undertake fogging activity in all places and each block would have 10 workers for the purpose.

20 cases a day


K. Bharathi, Block Medical Officer, Tirupparankundram PHC, said that around 20 fever cases were being reported every day with the patients complaining of severe body pain. ?Usually, the viral fever would be at the peak during October and we are evaluating the situation,? she said.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/23/stories/2009102359340300.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Mysterious viral fever grips Madhya Pradesh

I'm also not convinced that Madhya has a widely functioning healthcare system. Bordered on the South by Maharashtra 3500 + H1N1 cases, on the West by Gujarat 226 confirmed cases, and north by Rajasthan which has had a surge of fatalities this past week, Madhya has only 7 confirmed H1N1 cases.

"Madhya Pradesh has a subtropical climate. Like most of north India it has a hot dry summer(April-June) followed by monsoon rains (July-September) and a cool and relatively dry winter. The average rainfall is about 1,370 mm (53.9 in). It decreases from east to west. The south-eastern districts have the heaviest rainfall, some places receiving as much as 2,150 mm (84.6 in), while the western and north-western districts receive 1,000 mm (39.4 in) or less.

Madhya Pradesh is dominated by the Tribal population. The differences in the tribal community, spread over in various parts of the state, is clearly seen not only on the basis of their heredity, lifestyle and cultural traditions, but also from their social, economic structure, religious beliefs and their language and speech. Due to the different linguistic, cultural and geographical environment, and its peculiar complications, the diverse tribal world of Madhya Pradesh has not only been largely cut-off from the mainstream of development.

The population of Tribals in Madhya Pradesh is 122.33 lakh constituting 20.27% of the total population of Madhya Pradesh (603.85 Lakh), according to the 2001 census. There were 46 recognized Scheduled Tribes and three of them have been identified as "Special Primitive Tribal Groups" in the State.[7]

The main tribal groups in Madhya Pradesh are Gond, Bhil, Baiga, Korku, Bhadia, Halba, Kaul, Mariya, and Sahariya. Dhar, Jhabua and Mandla districts have more than 50 percent tribal population. In Khargone, Chhindwara, Seoni, Sidhi and Shahdol districts 30 to 50 percent population is of tribes. Maximum population is that of Gond tribes."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_pradesh

""When Indian states are compared to countries in the Global Hunger Index, [the central Indian state of] Madhya Pradesh ranks between Ethiopia and Chad," it says.

India is long known to have some of the highest rates of child malnutrition and mortality in under-fives in the world.

According to the Indian government statistics two years ago, around 60% of more than 10 million children in the state were malnourished."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7669152.stm