the situation in Italy –

A pathogen is once again causing alarm in India. It is the Chandipura virus (CHPV) – transmitted by sandflies and ticks – which can cause fever with joint pain, Reye’s syndrome (a rare form of acute encephalopathy) and infantile cerebral palsy. India has confirmed 51 cases in various regions of the country, especially children. Now an international study in the publication phase – coordinated by Francesco Branda, Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology of the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome – has created a platform to better monitor the cases and provide “a complete global picture of the ongoing epidemic with timely and coordinated responses”. According to the researchers, behind this outbreak in India there are also climate changes that can “influence the spread and prevalence of various infectious diseases, potentially altering the habitats of vectors and disease transmission patterns, such as the Chandipura virus, an emerging tropical pathogen named after the village in Maharashtra, India where it was first identified in 1965”.

“Symptoms initially resemble those of influenza,” the study authors describe, “but can rapidly progress to encephalitis, coma and death within 24-48 hours, affecting mostly children under 15 years of age. The exact mechanism by which the virus enters the central nervous system is not yet fully understood. However, it is thought to produce a phosphoprotein in brain cells within 6 hours of infection, which may explain its rapid lethality. Unfortunately, scientists warn, there are no antiviral drugs or vaccines available. Vector control, we are talking about an arbovirus, hygiene and awareness are the only available measures against the disease.” The aim of the work is to “harmonize the information collected, ensuring that data from different sources can be effectively compared and combined.” A platform has therefore been created to monitor infections in different states and plan rapid and concerted responses.

The Chandipura virus “is scary because it is extremely lethal”. But in our country and, more generally, in Europe “there is no alarm. Up to now the pathogen has remained confined to a few geographical areas”. The analysis of the epidemiologist Giovanni Rezza, associate professor of Hygiene at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan. “The sandflies and midges that transmit the infection have also been found in some areas of West Africa, but at the moment the epidemic potential seems rather low. Only specific studies could tell us more”. This reduced presence “is important because we are talking about a highly lethal virus, similar to rabies that can be responsible for encephalitis that can put life at risk”, concludes Rezza.