Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
of rodents such as Rattus r. wroughtoni, R. blanfordi, and Mus booduga and the
shrew Suncus murinus. It can also infect the porcupine, the bandicoot, and the fly-
ing squirrel as well as bats and many species of birds. Domestic cattle are rather
poor hosts of the virus. It has perhaps the widest host range among arboviruses.
The vectors include several species of ticks, predominantly of the genus
Haemaphysalis. H. spinigera is the most widespread vector with a wide host range.
It is perhaps the sole vector in relation to man. H. turturis is an equally important
vector with a major role in the extra human transmissions. Several other species
have been found infected in nature or in the laboratory. Species of Ixodes and
Dermacentor are also known to be infected in nature and laboratory transmission
has been obtained with several of them. Ornithodoros sp. inhabiting the bat-roosting
caves has also been found infected. KFD may also be transmitted by contact or
through aerosols. Several laboratory infections have occurred among those handling
virus-infected material. Though numerous aspects of the epidemiology of KFD have
been studied and understood there are still a few nagging questions, in particular, the
public health aspects related to the control of the disease and prevention of its further
spread demand urgent attention.
The distribution of KFD virus in India has been the subject of much speculation.
Neutralizing antibodies to the virus, which is the same or very similar, have been
seen in horses, camels, and man in Kutch district of Gujarat state, but no disease of
man or animals attributable to it has been recognized. Stray serologic positives in
man have been seen in a few other parts of India, but their relation to KFD is not
clear.
Ganjam Virus Disease
21,23,113
Ganjam virus was first isolated in 1954 from H. intermedia infesting goats in
Orissa state. But no relationship to a lumbar paralysis disease prevailing at the time
in the exotic strains of goats was found. A little later the virus was isolated from
Culex vishnui mosquitoes in Vellore in Tamil Nadu. The virus was also isolated
from two persons, a young boy suffering from high fever in Vellore area and a lab-
oratory worker who was handling the virus. Neutralizing antibodies of the virus
were found in human sera in several parts of India. Recently, Ganjam virus was
recorded to be antigenically identical with Nairobi sheep disease virus, a common
fatal disease of sheep in quite large areas in Africa.
Wanowrie Virus Disease
42
The Wanowrie virus has been isolated from ticks Hyalomma marginatum isaaci
and Culex fatigans near Pune. It has so far not posed any problem in India, but the
same virus was isolated from the brain of a sick woman in Sri Lanka. The illness
ended in death. This certainly makes Wanowrie virus a pathogen of potential
human importance.
Crimean/Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
122
Report of serologic studies made in India in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan indicate
the occurrence of CHF virus in human and domestic animals. No disease resem-
bling CHF has, however, been reported in the country. CHF is a well-known dis-
ease in Bulgaria, Turkey, Southern USSR (known since 1944), and Iran. A further
