Suspected infection of Chandipura virus has caused death of seven children in the districts of Vadodara, Dohad and Panchmahals in central Gujarat in the last one week.
Dr Deveshwar Pandey, superintendent of government-run Sir Sayajirao Hospital here, said blood samples of the deceased had been sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology for confirmation of the suspicion that these deaths were caused by the virus, which spreads through the bite of sand-fly.
Dohad and Panchmahals are tribal-dominated districts bordering Madhya Pradesh.
The infection typically causes inflammation of brain tissues.
