The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has assigneda multidisciplinary National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to Gujarat and Rajasthan to boost public health response measures against the ongoing Chandipura Virus Disease (CHPV) outbreak.
The high-level joint team comprises experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD). Working in close coordination with state health departments, the team is tasked with conducting thorough epidemiological assessments, vector surveillance, clinical management guidance, and laboratory diagnostics. The NCDC Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) has also been fully activated to support field operations.
The initiative comes as part of multi-institutional scientific probe involving leading national research bodies. Active surveillance has been intensified for Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) across affected districts, alongside community-based serosurveys. In addition to examining sandflies the established vector researchers are analyzing mosquitoes, ticks, and mites, as well as conducting animal surveillance on cattle, buffaloes, and goats to identify potential reservoirs. Preliminary whole-genome sequencing conducted at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) has detected minor genetic variations in circulating strains, with further comparative studies ongoing.
Supported by India’s Hospital-based AES Surveillance Network across 15 tertiary care institutions, this initiative reflects a unified “One Health” strategy that integrates human, vector, and animal surveillance to effectively track, understand, and contain the virus.
Written by: Pragna Biswas
Graphics by: Pramit Hazra
