Monkey Fever Afflicts Goa: 35 People Infected in Goa’s Sattari Taluka

Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or popularly known as ‘monkey fever’ has affected 35 people in Sattari taluka of North Goa. An official at the Valpoi community health centre (CHC) said, “All the people who have tested positive for the monkey fever this year have been provided treatment for the viral infection.” Adding further he said that most of the positive cases have been found in the Sanvorderm panchayat area of Sattari. He further said that the health department has intensified its vaccination drive and distributed tick repellent oils in the nearby villages. No one in this year has died so far from the infection. The fever in the past claimed three lives in the Sattari taluka in 2016 and one in 2015.

KFD or referred to as ‘Makad Taap’ in local language, is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic fever endemic to South Asia. The disease was first detected in 1957 at the Kyasanur forest in Shimoga district, Karnataka and was later named after the place. The virus is transmitted to human beings through parasitic ticks which latch on to monkeys. The symptoms of the infection are fever and body ache, resulting in haemorrhage like that in dengue. People who are already suffering from kidney, heart and liver ailments are more vulnerable to KFD infection. After the death of one person in 2015, the Goa government permitted the Manipal Centre for Virus Research to set up its virology unit at the Valpoi CHC and conduct tests on suspected blood samples. Between 2015 and 2016, tests were conducted on approxaimately 800 samples of villagers from the district who suffered from fever and around 270 tested positive for KFD.

Last year 88 patients tested positive, but no death was reported. The infection affects both human beings and monkeys, but once a monkey gets infected with the tick bite, it generally dies. The ticks drop as soon as the monkey dies, thus generating hot spots for spreading the infection. The official said that about 50 metre radius around the site where a monkey’s carcass is found is vulnerable for the spread of the infection. The mortality rate in monkeys is higher as compared to human beings.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 11, 2018 05:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).