Woman dies of monkey fever in Karnataka

Uttara Kannada, Feb 22 (IANS) A 65-year-old woman died of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), known as monkey fever, on Thursday in Karnataka’s Uttar Kannada district.

This is the first monkey fever death in the district and health authorities are concerned about the development as the effective vaccination is not available yet.

The condition of woman, hailing from Jiddi village near Siddapur town, turned critical on Wednesday.

State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had recently held a high-level meeting with legislators and officers of three districts of the state where the outbreak of the disease has created a concerning situation.

The state, which has 103 active monkey fever cases, had recorded two deaths so far, one each in Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts.

The state government has held talks with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for effective vaccination and authorities are hopeful of getting the vaccination sooner.

The awareness programme is also undertaken in the regions where the disease is detected.

Monkey fever is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease which can be fatal to humans and other primates.

The symptoms of KFD begin suddenly with chills, fever, and headache. Severe muscle pain with vomiting, gastrointestinal symptoms and bleeding problems may occur three-four days after initial symptom onset.

–IANS

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