Comprehensive One Health Strategy Boosts Surveillance of Chandipura Fever
The central government has amplified its One Health response to the Chandipura virus resurgence by deploying a National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to Gujarat and Rajasthan. This coordinated effort merges human, animal and vector surveillance under the umbrella of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
NJORT brings together epidemiologists, virologists, entomologists, veterinary scientists and laboratory diagnosticians from NCDC, ICMR and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Their unified task‑force will carry out field investigations, assess epidemic trends, guide clinical management, streamline laboratory workflows and monitor vector populations.
Key research institutions—including ICMR’s National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), National Institute of Virology (NIV), National Institute of Vector‑ borne Disease Research (NIVDR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s Animal Epidemiology unit—are collaborating with Gujarat’s state health department to map the complete clinical spectrum of the disease, ranging from low‑grade fever to severe acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).
Enhanced active case‑finding for acute febrile illness (AFI) and AES has been rolled out in all affected districts. Community‑based serosurveys are being conducted to capture asymptomatic infections and to estimate the true burden of the virus in the population. Laboratory capacities are being expanded, with new diagnostic kits and animal models under development to improve pathogen detection.
While sand‑flies remain the primary suspected vector, the investigation also scrutinises mosquitoes, culicine flies and other arthropods for possible transmission roles. Thousands of vector specimens collected from the field are currently undergoing molecular testing in BSL‑3 facilities.
Animal surveillance has been widened to include livestock that could serve as secondary reservoirs. Blood and milk samples from cattle, buffaloes and goats—about 70 animals so far—are being screened for Chandipura virus and related agents. Results are pending; no definitive conclusions have been drawn.
The team is revisiting data from the 2024 Gujarat outbreak, where extensive vector sampling failed to isolate a single definitive carrier, highlighting the intricate ecology of CHPV.
Genomic sequencing of virus isolates collected during the current outbreak is underway at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC). Early reads indicate minor genetic variations, but a full comparative genomic analysis is required to determine if the circulating strain has diverged from earlier lineages.
The investigation is supported by India’s hospital‑based Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) surveillance network, covering 15 tertiary‑care hospitals nationwide. Using standardised clinical protocols, serological and molecular diagnostics, and next‑generation sequencing, the network strengthens early detection, clarifies AES aetiology and enables rapid public‑health decision‑making.
Overall, the One Health framework adopted by NJORT integrates human health, animal health and vector ecology to provide a holistic, evidence‑based response to the Chandipura virus challenge.