Ahmedabad, Aug 21 (IANS): Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel stated on Wednesday that the state had not reported any new cases of viral encephalitis or the Chandipura virus in the last six days.

Furthermore, no deaths due to the virus were reported in the last 12 days.

In July as many as 14 cases of the Chandipura virus were reported in Himmatpur, with seven patients admitted to hospitals.

Across Gujarat, a total of 50 Chandipura virus cases have been reported, resulting in 16 fatalities in July.

Health Minister Patel shared these updates while responding to a question in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, where he provided a comprehensive overview of the current status of viral infections in the state.

He revealed that 164 cases of viral encephalitis have been recorded in Gujarat this year, out of which 61 were confirmed to be Chandipura positive.

“The state government has taken measures to curb the spread of the Chandipura virus. Extensive surveillance was conducted in 53,999 households in the affected and surrounding areas. Additionally, Malathion powder dusting was carried out in 7,46,927 temporary houses, and spraying was completed in 1,57,074 such houses,” he stated.

“Efforts extended to public institutions as well, with dusting in 31,563 schools and spraying in 8,649 schools. Similar measures were taken in 36,150 Anganwadis, with spraying conducted in 8,696 of the centres. Despite these efforts, the recent toll has been significant, with 73 children succumbing to the infection, 28 of whom were Chandipura-positive. On the other hand, 88 children have recovered from various viruses and been discharged from the hospital after receiving intensive treatment.”