BMC swings into action to check Hantavirus source

Following the death of a 12-year-old boy from Colaba reportedly of the Hantavirus infection, civic officials have started investigating if the virus was indeed the cause.

Hantavirus infection, called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), infects the lung and is caused by viruses found in the saliva, urine, and droppings of rodents.

Officials are trying to determine the source of the virus, and if the boy carried it to the city from Gulbara in Karnataka, which is the boy's hometown.

The officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have surveyed Colaba, visiting 3,200 houses, examining 15,460 people and detected six cases of fever, three cases of respiratory tract disorder, and one case of gastro and viral fever.

Dr Mini Kheterpal, chief of civic body's epidemiology cell, said, \"We have approached the National Institute of Virology (NIV). We are waiting for the test results of a few samples we sent to various laboratories.\"

An official working in BMC's epidemiology department, who did no wish to be named, said the civic body had approached its counterpart in Gulbarga to find out if the virus had originated there.

As the Hantavirus is a zoonotic diseases (passed from animals to man), the epidemiology department has also got in touch with animal hospitals to determine if similar virus had been found during dissection of rats.

The BMC has alerted microbiology departments of all the major hospital such as Sion, KEM, Nair and Cooper, asking them to conduct thorough study of patients showing symptoms of leptospirosis, dengue and chikungunya.

Professor Avinash Kale, Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Exce-llence in Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai, said, \"Flu viruses constantly change and mutate, which means the next time it strikes, it is stronger and can create new infections. So, it is very difficult to detect the existing infection. Hence, proper diagnosis is essential to avoid wrong treatment.