Kyasanur Forest Disease, commonly known as Monkey Fever is a virus that attacks humans and monkeys. Check its symptoms, transmission, and prevention
Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) is a disease that is caused by a virus that infects rodents, shrews, and monkeys. It is also known as monkey fever after KFD was found in 1957 when it was isolated from a sick monkey from the Kyasanur Forest in Karnataka. Since then, almost 400-500 human cases have been reported annually. It is a viral hemorrhagic fever caused by a member of the virus family Flaviviridae. Monkey fever is a transmitter disease that usually attacks monkeys and human beings. This infection is contagious to individuals from animals and causes fever, headache, and chills. In a few cases, Kyasanur forest disease can become more serious and cause bleeding, leading to death.
Kyasanur Forest Disease Transmission
This disease can be transmitted via the vector Haemaphysalis spinigera. This virus spreads to humans from a forest tick and other animals which are sources of infections including squirrels, rats etc. It can also be caused by direct interaction with sick dead monkeys. However, monkey fever is not transmitted between humans. This hemorrhagic fever usually spreads in October or November and increases in January to April.
Signs and Symptoms of Monkey Fever
Kyasanur forest disease commonly known as monkey fever causes various symptoms. The most common sign is feeling cold with a severe pounding headache. The disease begins with abrupt chills and high fever. The symptoms are visible after 2 to 7 days of tick bite. The fever usually lasts for 12 days or more with noticeable bleeding from the nose, throat, gums and even the intestine after 4 days of acknowledging symptoms. Serious infection can cause bleeding in the lungs or loss of blood in the intestines, leading to death. Some of the neurological signs associated with monkey fever are as follows.
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Muscle stiffness
- Mental disorder
- Tremors
- Poor vision
- Severe headache
- Poor reflexes
The incubation period of this disease is generally 3-8 days. However, it also depends on the immunity of an infected person and it can vary as the patient may feel fatigued or have severe muscle aches that will hamper one’s everyday activities.
Prevention
Getting vaccinated is the best and safest to prevent the transmission of monkey fever. The vaccine for this disease is given in two dosages within the timespan of a month between the age group of 7 to 65 years. Its vaccine is produced by inactivating the virus grown in a tissue culture of chick embryos using formalin. Additional preventive measures for monkey fever include insect repellents and wearing protective clothing in areas where ticks are likely to attack.