New Delhi: The Karnataka government has decided to form a committee to investigate the outbreak of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) – also known as “monkey fever” – in the state’s Sagar taluk after it claimed six lives in the last few weeks. Eighteen people have also tested positive for the disease in Aralagodu Gram Panchayat limits since December.
The government’s committee will look into lapses in the protocol to manage the outbreak.
According to The News Minute, Karnataka’s health and family welfare minister, Shivanand Patil has said that there have been lapses in the handling of the outbreak and that his department would look into it.
“It has come to my notice that there have been lapses committed by the health department. An expert committee will be appointed and an internal enquiry will be conducted on this, which will include forest, health, rural development and the veterinary departments. The focus is on restricting the spread of the disease once again,” he said.
Patil also said that a committee will examine and then make recommendations on how to strengthen health infrastructure in the affected region of Malnad. The committee will comprise a retired IAS officer, a retired judge and a retired dean of a medical college.
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The Karnataka government is also reportedly discussing the issue of whether to give compensation to the affected families.
KFD was discovered in 1957 in Kyasanur forest in Shimoga, Karnataka and was largely confined to the area until 2006. In six decades, it has claimed about 500 lives in Karnataka alone. It is now also seen in Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra. The Wire earlier reported that the disease has largely been seen along the Western Ghats.
The KFD virus belongs to the flaviviridae family – which also includes yellow fever, dengue, Japanese-encephalitis and Zika viruses. In KFD, ticks pick up and carry the virus from infected animals like monkeys on whom they feed. Humans are then infected with the virus from these ticks.
Breakdown in vaccination against KFD
As per The News Minute report, health researchers found ticks that tested positive for the virus last year and vaccination was conducted for people who lived in a radius of five-kilometre from the spot where they were found.
However, in 2014, when there was another such outbreak, health officials had considered it better to vaccinate people in a radius of up to ten kilometres.
In 2016, a commissioner in Karnataka’s health department had received a proposal to decrease the vaccination coverage area from ten to five kilometres once again. The commissioner rejected this.
However, according to the web portal, vaccination was still only done for people in a five-kilometre radius during this outbreak. If this was done beyond that, it would have covered residents of Aralagodu where people have died from KFD in the last few weeks.
Since November, about 2,000 people have been vaccinated against KFD in the affected area. Those who have not been vaccinated in advance of contracting the virus can only be treated and have their symptoms managed. The vaccine needs two doses – given in a gap of one month – followed by a booster dose. Researchers say that only after this entire course has been completed can they have any security on the immunity of the residents.