Mysterious Fever Claims At Least 15 Lives In Gujarat; Samples Sent To Pune For Testing

At least 15 people have died in Gujarat's Kutch district due to a mysterious fever. Officials report that samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune to confirm the cause of death.

Mysterious Fever Claims At Least 15 Lives In Kutch; Samples Sent To Pune For Testing

A mysterious fever has claimed at least 15 lives in Gujarat's Kutch district Lakhpat in the last eight days. Reports say that the authorities have not yet been able to determine the cause behind the sudden fatalities. They suspect that the fever could be pneumonitis. Between the 3rd and the September, the region had reported at least 10 deaths and five more after that. The state of Gujarat has been reeling from bad weather for the past few days. A yellow alert has been issued in the capital Ahmedabad with forecast of heavy downpour accompanied with thunderstorm. The outbreak of this mysterious fever has coincided with bad weather. The district of Kutch has reportedly received the highest rainfall in the state this monsoon. It has recorded about 890mm of rain, or 184% of the average, as of September 10.

Samples Sent To Pune's National Institute Of Virology

According to the district collectors statements to the media, they have already sent the blood samples of the deceased to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing and confirming the cause of death. The results are expected to arrive in one or two days.

As per reports, possibilities of diseases such as H1N1, swine flu, Crimean-Congo fever, malaria, and dengue have been ruled out through the tests. They have also ruled out the possibilities of contamination or communicable disease either.

Official reports said that 22 surveillance teams and more doctors have been deployed in Lakhpat, which borders Pakistan to prevent any further disease transmission.

This is a developing story, please stay tuned to this page for more information.