Mystery fever kills 17 as authorities urge locals to 'get tested'

Health experts are flummoxed as a "mystery fever" has claimed the lives of 17 individuals , including seven kids.

A rash of fatalities has hit Kutch in Gujarat in western India recently, with heightened concern following the death of a 42-year-old man who had left the hospital against doctors' recommendations just three days before succumbing - having discharged himself to perform last rites for his child who was severely sick with another virus, as per the Indian Express .

Officials from the government maintain that there's "no cause for alarm," yet Rushikesh Patel, the state health minister, has implored citizens to "get tested" despite it being unclear exactly what they should be testing for.

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The minimal data available pertaining to this fever indicates that it is of the "acute respiratory distress high-grade" variety, and among the 17 casualties, the seven children were all between the tender ages of five and 16.

In addition to these young victims, three others were aged from 18 to 20 years old, and three more ranged between 30 to 36 the remainder spanned from approximately 42 up to 50 years of age, with six females and eleven males among the deceased, reports the Daily Star .

Dr Ravindra Fulmali, Kutch's Chief District Health Officer, disclosed: Early test samples sent to the National Institute of Virology returned negative for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), Hantavirus, and Nipah virus.

Dr Kamlesh Upadhyay, from Medicine at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, who has first-hand knowledge of the cases, remarked: "In the clinical presentations, we have seen a pattern of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart wall) and skeletal muscle damage among patients. We have also seen Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)."

"Pyrexia (high-grade fever) is common across all the deceased patients along with Hypotension (low blood pressure). There is also some impact on the kidneys. Besides, the platelet count of the patients was also low. There were markings on the lungs but pulmonary fibrosis could also occur due to the impact of pneumonia or heart failure. Further investigations are underway."

"There may be a possibility of contagiousness as we have seen certain household clusters, but we need more data to confirm whether it is so. Fortunately, there is no rapid spread of disease."