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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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Year : 2012 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 2 | Page : 167-168 |
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Localized outbreak of chikungunya fever in rural field practice area of a medical college in Pune, India
Jitendra S Bhawalkar, Ravi Gupta, Sanjay S Darade, Rajabhau J Thorat
Department of Community Medicine, Padm. Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Pimpri, Pune, India
Date of Web Publication | 10-Nov-2012 |
Correspondence Address: Jitendra S Bhawalkar Department of Community Medicine, Padm. Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Pimpri, Pune India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.103354
How to cite this article: Bhawalkar JS, Gupta R, Darade SS, Thorat RJ. Localized outbreak of chikungunya fever in rural field practice area of a medical college in Pune, India. Med J DY Patil Univ 2012;5:167-8 |
Sir,
The chikungunya virus was first isolated in India at Kolkata in the early sixties. In 1964, Kolkata was invaded by a dengue-like illness that was subsequently identified as the chikungunya virus. [1] Since the mid-sixties it kept a rather low profile in the country for more than three decades. [2],[3] Since 2004-2005 outbreaks of chikungunya fever have been confirmed from many parts of the country. [3],[4],[5]
An outbreak of fever cases accompanied with joint pains, occurred in rural field practice area of a Medical College in Pune in the months of June-July 2010.
Cases reporting to rural field practice area with complaints of fever with/without joint pains underwent thorough clinical examination and routine laboratory investigations. Besides, few serum samples were also sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, to test for IgM against prevalent arboviral diseases in the region i.e., dengue and chikungunya. As the cases exhibited clustering at one particular village, Padmavati, a house-to-house survey of that village was undertaken to identify more cases. An ecological survey of the village was also carried out.
Out of 10 serum samples from fever cases during house to house samples, five showed high titres of IgM antibodies against chikungunya virus. None of the samples showed antibodies against dengue virus. Place distribution of cases revealed all the cases were clustered in one particular village. House-to-house survey revealed a total of 19 cases with the same symptom-complex, out of the total population of the village which was 518 giving an attack rate of 3.7%. All the cases occurred between 13 June 2010 and 30 July 2010. Among females 3.8% were affected while 3.5% males were affected. Only two cases were in children below 5 years, the rest 17 cases were among adults over 25 years of age. Housewives constituted the maximum number of cases (7), followed by peridomestic labourers (6). Ecological survey revealed peridomestic water collections in artificial containers and stagnant drains with mosquito breeding and presence of adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in dwellings [Figure 1]. Outbreak was brought under control by anti-adult and antilarval measures.
References | | |
1. | Kohn GC. In The Wordsworth Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence. Wordsworth Editions Ltd. Cumberland House, Crib Street, Ware, Hertfordshire, UK. 1998. p. 141. |
2. | Pavri K. Disappearance of chikungunya virus from India and south east Asia. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1986;80:491. [PUBMED] |
3. | Selvavinayagam TS. Chikungunya fever outbreak in Vellore, South India. Indian J Community Medicine 2007;32:286-7. |
4. | Chopra A, Anuradha V, Ghorpade R, Saluja M. Acute Chikungunya and persistent musculoskeletal pain following the 2006 Indian epidemic: A 2-year prospective rural community study. Epidemiol Infect 2012;140:842-50. [PUBMED] |
5. | Doke PP, Dakhure DS, Patil AV. A clinic-epidemiological study of chikungunya outbreak in Maharashtra state, India. Indian J Public Health 2011;55:313-6. [PUBMED] |
[Figure 1]
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