This is technically the second death in Goa after the outbreak of Monkey Fever in the Sattari Taluka. The monkey disease which is also known as the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) took the life of the 60-year-old woman at Mauxi village in Sattari.
According to the reports, the Monkey Fever is spreading in the remote villages of Sattari Taluka. It started in the month of April 2015 and till date, more than 30 people have been diagnosed positive for KFD. The first death occurred right in the beginning of the outbreak and second within 9 months.
The deceased Janki Yaso Desai (60) who was undergoing the treatment at Valpoi health centre had been shifted to GMC on Wednesday but she succumbed to monkey fever on Saturday at Goa Medical Collage. The cause of death was confirmed by the state epidemiologist Dr. Utkarsh Betodkar.
According to the reports, the disease was initially limited to two villages of Sattari which slowly started spreading into the neighboring villages of Copardem and Mauxi. According to Dr. Bethodkar, due to their efforts more cases are coming to light. To help the process of screening Manipal Centre for Viral Research (MCVR) had set up the surveillance centre at Valpoi. Bethodkar said that due this more cases are being investigated now. According to him, they will be doing the study for next three years to determine the prevalence and history of KFD in Goa.
It has been asserted that the epidemic started spreading in Goa from the neighboring state jungles which has the dense population of infected monkeys and according the directorate of health had tested 139 samples at the laboratory in Shimoga.
According to Bethodkar, those who have tested positive have been given the treatment which completes in four to five days. According to him, there is no specific treatment for the KFD so far and the infected people are given only supportive treatment.
According to the sources, the KFD was first detected in Shimoga, Karnataka and there is no clue as when and how it found its way into Goa. Bethodkar feels that the research will only be able to put some light on this. The alerts have been already issued to the doctors attached to the health centres in the state to take the necessary precautions and be alert about the cases reported from the places closer to forests in Goa.
Bethodkar also feels that all the people who have been tested positive for the KFD needs immediate medical attention. According to him, the KFD epidemic falls into three categories, Mild, Moderate and Severe.
In the first category, a person gets the mild fever which subsequently cools down on its own while the second category of moderate fever, the infected person gets a high fever which does not recede soon in some cases and this is the sign that the infected person should be admitted into the hospital for the treatments. The third stage is very severe with high fever and dehydration.
It may be recalled that to control the spreading of the infection in the other areas, the directorate of health services had started the vaccination drive in the affected villages but people were reluctant to come ahead to avail the benefits of the same. More than the vaccination there is a need of awareness drive in the affected villages of Goa whereby the people should come out voluntarily and take the benefit of vaccination.
Source: Various Sources.
