SHOAIB SHAIKH
shoaib@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or commonly known as monkey fever is making inroads in the villages of Western Ghats, with the latest cases being identified in Kasarvani in Patradevi.
Dr Utkarsh Betodkar, Epidemiologist at the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) under the Directorate of Health Services informed that the department has identified 36 cases in the villages of Sattari and Dharbandora talukas.
He said “In 2017, since January 235 people have been tested and 36 of them have tested positive.”
However, the cause of concern he said is the identification of new cases in Patradevi which is a border town with the Maharashtra. “There are KFD cases reported in the adjacent villages of Patradevi on the Maharashtra side,” he added.
In 2016, the department had tested 1942 people and 286 had tested positive and three deaths were reported in the Sattari taluka. Stating that the disease is spread through infected ticks, Dr Betodkar said that human contact with these infected ticks causes the spread of the disease in human beings.
However, to curtail the spread of monkey fever, he said villagers should take all the precautionary measures while venturing for their daily activities into the forests.
“Our study reveals that the villagers venture into the forest for cleaning their cashew plantation for cleaning purpose post monsoon season in the month of November and that is the first spell of this disease. The second spell of the disease was in the months of March, April and May when the villagers venture to get the cashew fruits,” he stated.
According to Dr Betodkar, KFD cases are not witnessed during the monsoon season.
Responding to the measures adopted by the department to curb the spread of the disease, he said that apart from the vaccination drive, the health services are carrying out fever surveillance in all the villages to detect any susceptible patients who are suffering from fever without influenza. Further he said that the department is carrying out dead monkey surveillance to provide quick response to any news of monkey deaths and timely and appropriate disposal of the dead monkeys.
Requesting the villagers to take precautions, he said “Since it is the question of their livelihood we cannot stop them from venturing into the forests, however, we request them to cover their bodies completely so that the body does not come in contact with the ticks. And also avoid resting in the forest areas.”
He further said that the government is procuring DMP oil to provide selected households on a pilot basis. “If we are satisfied with the results and the people do not complain of any side effects, then we will procure more and distribute for people to use as a repellent”, he stated.
Stating that when a group of monkeys get infected with the disease, their natural habitat ethics are that they isolate themselves. “Therefore we can draw conclusion that the number of monkeys will die their death but we need to cautious”, he added
