Balarampur, an Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border village in Ganjam district’s Patrapur block, is in the grip of the mosquito-borne viral diseases. While eight persons of the village have been tested dengue positive, one each tested positive for Chikungunya and Scrub typhus, official sources said here.

After two years, the Chikungunya resurfaced in the district, when a 12-year-old boy in the village was tested positive, sources said. The last Chikungunya case in the district was reported in March, 2020, when at least eight persons in Sardhapur village in Dharakote block had tested positive, sources added.

“Out of 29 blood samples of the fever patients in the border village tested in the MKCG Medical College here, one has tested as Chikungunya positive,” said Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Uma Shankar Mishra on Wednesday.

Apart from Chikungunya, eight dengue and one Scrub typhus cases have also been detected in the village, which has a population of over 850, said Mishra. Chikungunya is caused by the bite of mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, doctors said.

It does not spread from one person to another. But mosquitoes pick up the virus when they bite an infected person, thus causing further spread, doctors said. The patients infected with Chikungunya will suffer from muscle and joint pain with the fever.

Similarly, the Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, is caused by bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi. It spreads to people through bite of infected chiggers (larval mites), doctors said.

CDMO Mishra said the patients who detected the Scrub typhus and

Chikungunya have no other symptoms except fever for some days. While our out of eight dengue patients detected in the village are undergoing treatment at the MKCG Medical College Hospital, other patients have been cured, he said.

As many as 57 persons in the village suffered from the fever, while a 22-year old student allegedly died in a private clinic at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, recently.

A health team led by Joint Director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme Subasish Mohanty, recently visited the village to assess the situation, while a health team visited door-to-door to detect the patients. Mosquito breeding points have been destroyed, while fogging has continued daily in the village, said the CDMO.

‘There was no fresh case reported since August 19. The situation was now under control. Despite the fact, the awareness is continued to prevent further spread of the diseases” added the CDMO.