Elderly man succumbs to KFD, toll rises to four

On February 22, the man was admitted to a government hospital at Karwar with complaints of vomiting and dehydration

Belagavi :

The state government said, it exhausted the stock of vaccines in November last year. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A 68-year-old man from Uttara Kannada district succumbed to Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) on Sunday after he was admitted to Manipal hospital in Mangaluru.

According to the health department, this is the fourth death in the past one month owing to KFD, popularly known as monkey fever.

The hospital authorities said, on February 22, the man was admitted to a government hospital at Karwar with complaints of vomiting and dehydration, but since he was not responding to the treatment there, he was shifted six days later to Manipal hospital.

Earlier, two more deaths were recorded due to the infection in Siddapur town, one from Sirshi, and another from Chikkamagaluru district.

“Nearly 20 people are undergoing treatment at various government hospitals of the district and also in private hospitals of Mangaluru. The KFD which had widely infected Siddapur has spread spread its wings to neighbouring Sirshi, infecting three more who are undergoing treatment at a government hospital,” said Dr NV Naveen, the health officer of Uttara Kannada district.

“Many villages in Siddapur and Yallapur have already got empty, leaving one or two people to look after the livestock,” said a panchayat member from Siddapur requesting anonymity.

Every year, cases of KFD start rising from November in the thick forest areas of Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru. However, this year, the infection spread even to the drier areas of north Karnataka, said the DHO.

In Savadatti town of Belagavi district, 84 people, mostly children below the age of 12 years, have been infected with the disease. “The district is steadily coming out from KFD and the average number of infected people is reducing,” said Mahesh Koni, the DHO of Belagavi.

Last month, the state government had expressed its helplessness regarding the non-availability of vaccines. “Since we did not expect that KFD would hit the state to this extent, we didn’t stock up enough vaccines. The limited vaccines we had were exhausted in November last year. The manufacturing of the vaccines is underway and will be available only by May 2025,” said Karnataka minister for health and family welfare, Dinesh Gundurao.

Due to the non-availability of vaccine, the health department advised the patients to take complete bed rest for at least five days and maintain hygiene to get cured fast.

“The infected must maintain hygiene and stay away from the sun. The KFD infected must be treated like dengue and malaria,” said Koni.