The reported death of two monkeys that were living around the Thurayil Kavu Bhagavathi temple near Karanthur in the district has caused concern here against a backdrop of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), popularly known as monkey fever, being reported from Nilambur in the neighbouring district of Malappuram.
With the initial reports of the post-mortem examination giving no indications of the disease, the District Veterinary Hospital authorities here maintained that there was nothing to panic about yet.
Arun Zachariah of the Wildlife Disease Research Lab in Wayanad district, who conducted the post-mortem examination of the monkeys on Wednesday, told The Hindu that no symptom of the KFD was found during the post-mortem examination and hence there was no reason to worry.
‘Pneumonia’Only symptoms of pneumonia were found in the initial investigations. A confirmation on this, Dr. Zachariah said, would be given only after further examination, which would be completed by Friday morning. “We have already started the lab work, which is an elaborate process,” he said.
It was almost a week ago that residents of the Konot area, not far away from the temple, observed a few monkeys roaming in the vicinity “with a sort of froth coming out of their mouths” and “weak in movement.” One of the residents reported the matter to the forest officials at Thamarassery, who immediately took an ailing monkey to Wayanad for treatment and observation. But it soon succumbed to the disease.
K.C. Prahladan, one of the residents, said that another monkey had died in the area recently. “A few of them were also seen limping around the area,” Mr. Prahladan said. ‘There are a few hundred people living in the area and we are concerned about this,” Sudhi Cheroramannil, another resident, said.
“It is for the first time in 40 years that I see something like this happening to the monkeys,” he said.
The officials of the Kuruvattoor Panchayat Community Health Centre have started collecting details about the reported disease. “We are also spreading awareness of the preventive steps in case of a disease outbreak,” said V.P. Sheeja, a health inspector.
