Toll from mysterious fever in Gujarat reaches 15, samples sent to Pune institute
District collector Amit Arora said the tests so far ruled out possibilities of diseases such as H1N1, swine flu, Crimean-Congo fever, malaria, and dengue
The toll from a mysterious fever in Lakhpat in Gujarat’s Kutch district has risen to 15 over the last eight days even as the authorities were yet unable to determine its cause. The fever, initially suspected to be pneumonitis, claimed at least 10 lives, including children, between September 3 to September 7. There have been at least five more deaths since then.
District collector Amit Arora said they have sent 11 samples of those who died to Pune’s National Institute of Virology to determine the cause of the deaths. “The results are expected to arrive in a day or two. We will have to wait for the results to find out whether this is a known virus or something new.”
He said the tests so far ruled out possibilities of diseases such as H1N1, swine flu, Crimean-Congo fever, malaria, and dengue. Arora said the deaths did not appear to be a result of contamination or communicable disease either.
Officials said that 22 surveillance teams and more doctors have been deployed in Lakhpat, which borders Pakistan.
The outbreak coincided with heavy rainfall and flooding in the region. The Kutch district received the highest rainfall in Gujarat this season, recording about 890mm of rain, or 184% of the average, as of September 10.