Ross River fever not occurring in Tamil Nadu

[Ronan Kelly]

Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu
Arun Ram , TNN, 14 January 2010, 02:00am IST

CHENNAI: The 'mysterious fever' being reported from different parts of Tamil Nadu, including the capital Chennai, could be Ross River fever, caused by a virus of that name hitherto confined to Australia, scientists here suspect.

While the Chennai Corporation has sent details of clinical symptoms to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, the Bioinformatics Centre of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) attached to Presidency College has placed orders for diagnostic kits with Australian manufacturers.

Several people in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Dharmapuri, Madurai, Theni, Tirunelveli and some coastal areas have taken ill in the recent weeks with symptoms of chikungunya, including high grade fever and joint pain, but many of them tested negative for it. Scientists now say it could be Ross River fever. The virus, spread by the aedes mosquito, may have been brought by infected people who arrived from Australia.

"Swelling of the face and severe inflammation of joints are tell-tale signs of Ross River fever, though sometimes it could be mistaken for chikungunya. We will send a report to the health ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research in a couple of days," said S Rajarajan, head of the PG research centre at the DBT unit in the city.

Chennai Corporation health officer Dr P Kuganandam said he was seized of the matter.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...reading-in-Tamil-Nadu/articleshow/5442226.cms

 

[alert]

Re: Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu - Ross River fever

Re: Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu - Ross River fever

This is confirmation from a second source. This is definitely a newsworthy event. I suspect a ProMED posting will be coming shortly. I wonder if when the sequences of the virus are determined, whether they will really match the strains in Austrailia (indicating new geographical spread of this pathogen), or only be simliar (indicating discovery of a novel virus simliar to the one in Australia. I wonder how much of the unidentified viral fever in India is due to this virus, either way.

http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=53504&sectionid=

Australia's Rose River Virus may be spreading viral fever in TN: Presidency college scientists
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 08:00 IST
Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

Based on a long study and research on the mosquito-borne viral fever that is prevalent in Tamil Nadu and a careful analysis of symptoms of patients, the scientists at the bioinformatics division of the Biotechnology Department at Presidency College in Chennai have come to a conclusion that the viral infection may probably be due to the spread of an Australian virus called Ross River Virus (RRV). The fever, known as Ross River Fever (RRF), is commonly found in Australia.

The Department has forwarded the study report to the ICMR and to the Health Department of the state to initiate a screening study on mosquitoes based on their analysis, said Dr S Rajarajan, head of PG Research Centre of the bioinformatics division of DBT at the College. Recently the director of ICMR while attending a scientific seminar in Chennai has commented that the viral fever now prevalent in Tamil Nadu was not Chikkungunya, but a disease like Chikkungunya with all its symptoms.

Dr Rajarajan said the prevailing viral infection in the state has all the symptoms of Chikkungunya, but it is different from that. His department at the College has been conducting research on the disease after testing patients from every district of the state and reached the conclusion that it might be the symptoms of Ross River Disease spread by RRV.

While speaking to Pharmabiz, he said the Ross River Fever (RRF) is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by the infection of Ross River Virus. The disease is typically characterized by an influenza-like illness of polyarthritis. Since the RRF is pandemic in Australia, his department has contacted the African agencies who hold researches on Ross River Virus to send a Serodiagnostic Kit to his Department for more confirmation.

?We are conducting researches on viruses. Based on the careful analysis of the symptoms of patients, we could differentiate the general symptoms of Chikkungunya, Dengue and Sinbie with RRF. The disease has already affected 50 percent of the people in the state, especially the people of the coastal areas. It becomes pandemic in the post rainy season,? Rajarajan told Pharmabiz.

?The RRF can cause joint inflammation and pain, fatigue and muscle aches. Many infected people also develop a rash of variable appearance. Everyone recovers, although some people have intermittent symptoms for a year or more. It is caused by an alpha virus, which is spread by mosquitoes. Arthritis caused by Ross River Virus disease lasts from days to months. The joints commonly affected include wrists, knees,ankles and small joints of the extremities, such as fingers or toes,? he said

According to his study, the conclusion is based on two reasons such as the typical symptom analysis of the disease which found that the patients have Fasciitis (swollen face) along with moderate fever, joint pain and swelling on joints. The second reason was with regard to the analysis done by the accumulation of synovial fluid in Tendons, especially from limbs.

He said, ?The special species that carry the virus are Anopheles and Culex. Though the specific species are found in Australia, it is not reported in India. He said the disease could be spread through tourists coming from Australia or Indian born Australians coming to the country on holidays. They might have brought this virus here.?

?We have also approached the Department of Biotechnology for a screening study of mosquitoes. Collection, identification of mosquitoes and sample to be subjected for isolation of virus will be done by our department. We will develop a finger print by separating the protein of virus,? the scientist said.

 

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Re: Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu - Ross River fever

Re: Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu - Ross River fever

Some background information about this virus.

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

Ross River virus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ross River virus
Virus classification
Group: Group IV ((+)ssRNA)
Family: Togaviridae

Genus: Alphavirus

Species: Ross River virus

Ross River virus (RRV) is a small encapsulated single-strand RNA alphavirus endemic to Australia, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the South Pacific. It is responsible for a type of mosquito-borne non-lethal but debilitating tropical disease known as Ross River fever, previously termed "epidemic polyarthritis". The virus is suspected to be enzootic in populations of various native Australian mammals, and has been found on occasion in horses.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Classification and morphology
2 History
3 Ecology
4 Lab research
5 Ross River fever
6 References
7 External links


[edit] Classification and morphology
Taxonomically Ross River virus belongs to the virus genus Alphavirus, which is part of the family Togaviridae. The alphaviruses are a group of small enveloped single-strand positive-sense RNA viruses. RRV belongs to a subgroup of "Old World" (Eurasian-African-Australasian) alphaviruses, and is considered closely related to Sagiyama virus.[1]

The virions themselves contain their genome in a protein capsid 700 ? in diameter. They are characterised by the presence of two glycoproteins (E1 and E2) embedded as trimeric dimers in a host-derived lipid envelope.[2]

Because RRV is transmitted through mosquito vector it is considered an arbovirus, a non-taxonomic term for viruses borne by arthropod vectors.

[edit] History
An alphavirus was the prime suspect in several outbreaks of "epidemic polyarthritis" recorded in the South Pacific and Australia during the early part of the 20th century. The disease was compared to "acute viral polyarthritis" caused by Chikungunya virus, noting the Australian disease seemed to progress in milder fashion. Serological testing suggested an unknown new species of alphavirus was the likely culprit.[1]

In 1959, the a new alphavirus was identified in mosquito samples trapped near Ross River, near Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Further serological testing showed that patients who had suffered "epidemic polyarthritis" in Queensland had antibodies to the virus. The new virus was named Ross River virus, and the disease Ross River fever.[1]

In 1972 it was determined that RRV isoalted from human serum could kill mice. However, the serum containing the virus that was used had come from a healthy Aboriginal child. This evidence made the link between RRV and Ross River fever less concrete.[1]

However RRV was later isolated in humans following a series of epidemic polyarthritis outbreaks in Fiji, Samoa and the Cook Islands, during 1979. RRV was isolated in an Australian patient suffering from Ross River fever in 1985.[1]

[edit] Ecology
In rural and regional areas of Australia, the continued prevalence of Ross River virus is thought to be supported by natural reservoirs such as large marsupial mammals. Antibodies to Ross River virus have been found in a wide variety of placental and marsupial mammals, and also in a few bird species. It is not presently known what reservoir hosts support Ross River virus in metropolitan areas such as Brisbane.[1]

The Southern Saltmarsh mosquito (Aedes camptorhyncus) which is known to carry the Ross River virus was discovered in New Zealand in 1998, and there is an ongoing eradication program by the New Zealand Ministry of Health, involving spraying the insectide Bti on infested areas. As of June 2007 there have been no reported cases of Ross River Virus that arose in New Zealand.[citation needed]

[edit] Lab research
The study of RRV has been recently facilited by a mouse model. Inbred mice infected with RRV develop hind-limb arthritis/arthralgia which is similar to human disease. The disease in mice, similar to humans, is characterized by an inflammatory infiltrate including macrophages which are immunopathogenic and exacerbate disease. Furthermore, recent data indicate that the serum component, C3, directly contributes to disease since mice deficient in the C3 protein do not suffer from severe disease following infection

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu - Ross River fever

Re: Oz virus may be spreading in Tamil Nadu - Ross River fever

Apprehension over fever allayed



Special Correspondent



CHENNAI: Analysis of samples lifted from people with fever in the State has shown that some people have chikungunya and/or dengue and that it is not Ross river fever or Murray Valley fever as speculated in some sections.

At a review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary K.S.Sripathi and in which the Health Secretary, Chennai Corporation Commissioner and the Director of Public Health, among others, participated, it was stated that mosquito control measures were in full swing. It was noted that 2,18,867 cases of fever had been reported from the State in January, down from 2,93,261 cases in December last year. The reduction in cases had been attributed to the intensive mosquito-control measures taken by the government. Teams from Central institutes including the National Institute of Virology, Pune, had taken samples and an analysis of the samples had shown that some people had chikungunya along with dengue.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/13/stories/2010021359740900.htm