A 55-year-old woman from Aralagodu Gram Panchayat limits in Sagar taluk, suspected to have been suffering from Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), also known as monkey fever, died on Saturday.
With the death of Ramamma, the number of people who have died with symptoms of KFD in Aralagodu since December 2018 has gone up to five. Three of them were confirmed to have died on KFD after blood tests. Manjunath Kanchikai, Ramamma’s son, died of KFD on Wednesday.
Kiran S.K., Field Medical Officer of KFD, Department of Health and Family Welfare, told The Hindu that so far 18 positive cases had been reported from the gram panchayat limits, of which four persons were being treated at government sub-divisional hospital in Sagar and two at McGann Hospital in Shivamogga. The condition of an 18-year-old girl who was tested positive for KFD was critical and she was being treated at a private hospital in Shivamogga city, he said.
Monkey’s carcass found
Meanwhile, a case of unnatural death of a monkey in a forest on the outskirts of A.B. Site near Linganamakki in Sagar taluk was reported on Saturday. The viscera and blood samples have been sent for tests. If the results confirm KFD, people living in a radius of 5 km from where the death was reported would be vaccinated against the disease, he said.
K.A. Dayanand, Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner, visited Aralagodu — the epicentre of the outbreak of KFD — on Friday, and spoke to the residents there. He directed health officials to station two ambulances at the primary health centre in Aralagodu.
