Karnataka: Monkey fever claims 1 more life, toll reaches 3 in 10 days

A 43-year-old agricultural labourer in Chikkamagaluru succumbed to KFD, regionally known as monkey fever, on Wednesday morning

Belagavi: A 43-year-old agricultural labourer in Chikkamagaluru succumbed to Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), regionally known as monkey fever, on Wednesday morning.

The state health department said, it has exhausted the stock for KFD vaccines. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“The woman was admitted to Megan Hospital at Shivamogga on February 21 with a KFD infection,” said an official from the hospital’s administration.

According to the health department, this is the third death owing to KFD in the past 10 days. Earlier, two more deaths were recorded due to the infection in Siddapur town, Uttara Kannada district.

The KFD has hit the state worse than last year, mainly infecting children below 12 years of age, said the officials. To date, nearly 500 people have been infected with the disease.

Meanwhile, the state government has expressed its helplessness regarding the non-availability of vaccines.

“Since we did not expect that KFD would hit the state to this extent, we didn’t stock up enough vaccines. The limited vaccines we had were exhausted in November last year. The manufacturing of the vaccines is underway and will be available only by May 2025,” said Karnataka minister for health and family welfare, Dinesh Gundurao.

Earlier, commissioner of the health department, Randeep, told the district health officers (DHO) that the vaccines got over in January after the KFD broke out in villages of Mysuru in November and December.

The commissioner had instructed the DHOs to ask people to take precautions.

Uttara Kannada district is infected with KFD every year. More than 60% of the vaccines produced are distributed in the district every year, while the rest are distributed in Belagavi, Shivamogga, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, and Mysuru districts, said officials.

Siddapur town, which has more than 100 infected people presently, saw the deaths of three adult monkeys earlier this month. Owing to the scare, residents of more than a dozen villages in Siddapur and its adjoining Yallapur town started migrating.

“After three adult monkeys were found dead in Siddapur forest near the hamlets, the villagers started migrating to other places, leaving one or two members at home to look after the livestock,” said a forest official, requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, Belagavi DHO Dr Mahesh Koni said, “The virus is not life-threatening. The infected recover completely within five days. It is only deadly if a person is infected for the second time, which causes heavy vomiting of blood.”

Remedies for KFD

Since the anti-virus vaccine is not available to tackle KFD, the health department advised the patients to take complete bed rest for at least five days and maintain hygiene to get cured fast.

“The infected must maintain hygiene and stay away from sun. KFD does not spread from human contact, but from the fly families that bite human after biting the sick or dead monkey,” said Koni.