Emergence of Chandipura viral encephalitis in India: a strategic approach to combat a fatal viral epidemic

Vector-borne viral encephalitis is currently a significant public health concern worldwide. Factors such as climate change, urbanization, rapid land development, globalization of trade, increased intercontinental travel, and ecological disruptions are contributing to the emergence of many viral diseases. Chandipura virus encephalitis (CHPVE) is one of the prominent emerging viral diseases, quickly becoming a serious health threat. CHPVE is an acute, febrile viral illness with a high-case fatality rate. The disease was first identified in 1965 in Chandipura, Nagpur district of Maharashtra, during an outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya. Initially, the outbreak was confined to Maharashtra, but it later spread to neighbouring states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Two decades after its initial case in Maharashtra, the disease has now been spread to other countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, West Africa, and Sri Lanka. As the name suggests, CHPVE is caused by the Chandipura virus (CHPV), belonging to the Vesiculovirus genus of the Rhabdoviridae family, responsible for the incidence of well-known neurotrophic disease, i.e., Rabies.