Arboviral Infections in India

Abstract

Arboviral infections pose major public health concern globally. Its incidence has been increasing around the world in recent decades and the infections spread to new areas as well. With the emergence and re-emergence of these infections, a significant number of individuals are affected with an estimated high fatality rate of 17 million deaths per year worldwide. In India, thousands of individuals get affected every year which potentially increases the healthcare burden. Dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile fever, chikungunya fever, hemorrhagic fevers such as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Kyasanur forest disease, etc. are some of the arboviral infections prevalent in India. Generally the rural, tribal and urban slum areas are inhabited mostly by people of socioeconomic groups who are more prone to develop vector borne diseases such as arboviral infections and are considered as high risk groups. The arboviral diseases are caused by RNA viruses that require host and vector for their life cycle. In order to combat arboviral infections, some public health measures have been recommended such as use of personal protective measures, vector control measures, piggeries to be kept away (4–5 km) from human dwellings and vaccination of the population in endemic regions.