Centre Deploys National Joint Outbreak Response Team as Multi-Institutional Probe Intensifies into Chandipura Virus Outbreak

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to Gujarat and Rajasthan to bolster the response to the ongoing Chandipura Virus Disease outbreak. The multidisciplinary team, comprising experts from NCDC, ICMR and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, will assist state governments in outbreak investigation, epidemiological assessment, clinical management, laboratory coordination, vector surveillance and public‑health measures. Concurrently, intensified active surveillance for acute febrile illness and AES, community serosurveys, animal sampling and vector analysis are underway. Whole‑genome sequencing of virus isolates is being conducted to detect any genetic changes, reflecting a coordinated ‘One Health’ approach.