An eerie silence pervades the lanes of Nuggi village in Koppa taluk of Chikkamagaluru. People are hardly seen walking around. Occasionally, pickup vehicles are spotted on the road carrying plantation workers. Barely anyone visits the shop, located close to the panchayat office, in the span of half an hour.
The sudden increase in Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) cases in Nuggi panchayat in the last few days has left the local people worried. Whenever neighbours or relatives meet, the spreading viral infection dominates their discussion.
Since January 1, 30 cases of KFD, a viral infection, have been reported in Chikkamagaluru district. And a majority of them are from Nuggi panchayat limits in Koppa taluk. The panchayat is spread over two villages - Nuggi and Hosur - and a few hamlets. There are around 700 households in the panchayat.
Tree cut
Among those found infected are workers who were hired to cut trees on a forest plantation at Berukudige, near Nuggi. Some of the local people who also visited the place to collect firewood got infected. A woman, who was the first to get the infection in the panchayat, stayed very close to the forest, where the trees were cut down on a large scale. She was taken to a private hospital in Dakshina Kannada district, and she recovered.
The officials of Health and Family Welfare conducted surveillance in the area and collected blood samples from all those who had developed symptoms like high fever and body pain. A few labourers from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, who work in coffee and tea estates, were also infected.
Monkey deaths
As monkeys also get infected by the disease, their deaths serve as a caution. In the last two months, the local people have noticed three monkey deaths. The veterinarians conducted an autopsy on one carcass, as the two other carcasses had decomposed. The autopsy did not show the presence of a virus.
H.R. Jagadish, former president and current member of the Nuggi panchayat, said the officers of the Health and Family Welfare Department had been spreading awareness among the local people about avoiding the infection. “We too have conducted meetings, and a task force has been constituted to act swiftly. Our people inform the authorities concerned whenever they notice a monkey death. So far, we have not noticed monkey deaths due to KFD,” he said.
Awareness
The taluk administration has made arrangements to distribute tick-repellent oil to the residents. K.S. Sudhakar, Koppa taluk health education officer, said that so far, 1,240 bottles (each 100 ml) have been given to the residents. “Koppa reported KFD cases in the past years, too. We have been spreading awareness about the disease. In Koppa taluk alone, we have collected 186 samples. Our staff members are conducting surveillance on a daily basis,” he said.
A 79-year-old person from Sringeri taluk died due to the KFD earlier this month. It is said one of his family members visited a hamlet near Nuggi to purchase areca nuts. The local people believe that through the bags of arecanuts, the ticks that spread the disease must have travelled to Sringeri, causing the death of an elderly person who hardly went out.
