A Sand Fly, a Mud Wall and a Monsoon: Chandipura Returns to Gujarat

Article summary

Chandipura virus has resurfaced in Gujarat during the 2026 monsoon. Of nineteen samples tested, seven returned positive for the virus; three children have died and four others are under treatment. Suspected and confirmed cases have been reported from Gandhinagar, Sabarkantha, Kheda, Aravalli and Panchmahal, concentrated in north Gujarat and the eastern tribal belt, and authorities have responded with intensified surveillance, door-to-door screening and insecticide spraying. The virus belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae — the same family as rabies, though it causes an entirely different disease — and was first identified in 1965 in Chandipura village, Maharashtra. It is transmitted primarily by sand flies rather than mosquitoes, is not spread person to person, and causes Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, striking children hardest. Its defining clinical feature is speed: high fever can progress to convulsions and loss of consciousness within hours, and reported case fatality has ranged from about 56 to 75 per cent. There is no approved antiviral and no vaccine, so supportive care is the entire clinical repertoire — which places the burden of protection almost wholly on vector control and on how quickly a child reaches a facility.