Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), also known as monkey fever, has resurfaced in the district, with two positive cases reported here in the past six days.
This is a fresh outbreak of the disease in the district as the last positive case was reported on January 29. Saakamma, a 40-year-old woman from Bandya-Kukke village in Tirthahalli taluk was treated for fever, ache in joints and head at the local primary health centre (PHC) on March 12. Her blood samples have tested positive for KFD.
Kiran S.K., Taluk Health Officer of Tirthahalli, told The Hindu that the relatives of the patient have taken her to a private hospital in Manipal for treatment and her condition is stable.
Similarly, a 75-year-old woman from Barangi village in Sorab taluk tested positive for KFD on March 13. The patient was treated for two days at the PHC in Barangi. After she showed signs of recovery, she was discharged. The Department of Health and Family Welfare is likely to commence vaccination against KFD in a radius of 5 km around Barangi shortly.
Spreading out
While KFD was concentrated in Tirthahalli and Hosanagar taluks from the past few years, this time the disease has been reported from Sorab and Sagar taluks also.
A total of 13 KFD positive cases among humans have been reported in the district in five months. This includes 10 cases from Tirthahalli taluk, two cases from Sagar taluk and one case from Sorab taluk. A 47-year-old woman from Ghantejanagallu village in Tirthahalli taluk died owing to KFD during this period.
Following the fresh outbreak, the blood samples of those suffering from symptoms of KFD in the affected gram panchayats of Tirthahalli, Sagar and Sorab taluks are being sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune for medical investigations. KFD is a tick-borne viral infection that spreads from monkeys to humans through tick bite.
