''Chandipura vesiculovirus'' (CHPV) is a member of the ''

Rhabdoviridae ''Rhabdoviridae'' is a family of negative-strand RNA viruses in the order ''Mononegavirales''. Vertebrates (including mammals and humans), invertebrates, plants, fungi and protozoans serve as natural hosts. Diseases associated with member viru ...

'' family that is associated with an encephalitic illness in humans. It was first identified in 1965 after isolation from the blood of two patients from Chandipura village in Maharashtra state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and has been associated with a number of otherwise unexplained outbreaks of encephalitic illness in central India. The most recent occurred in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and Maharashtra in June–August 2003 with 329 children affected and 183 deaths. Further sporadic cases and deaths in children were observed in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state in 2004. ''Chandipura vesiculovirus'' has been isolated from

sandflies Sandfly (or sand fly) is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking dipteran (fly) encountered in sandy areas. In the United States, ''sandfly'' may refer to certain horse flies that are also known as "greenhe ...

in India and West Africa and is probably spread through its bite. The presence of the virus in Africa indicates a wide distribution although no human cases have been observed outside India. The significance of ''Chandipura vesiculovirus'' as a human pathogen is unresolved due to doubts over its role in the 2003 and 2004 outbreaks. __TOC__

Virology

''Chandipura vesiculovirus'' is an enveloped RNA virus with an approximate genome length of ~11 kb. Viral genome codes for five polypeptides, namely, nucleocapsid protein N, phosphoprotein P, matrix protein M, glycoprotein G and large protein L in five monocistronic mRNAs. N protein encapsidates genome RNA into a nuclease-resistant form to protect in from cellular RNAse function. L and P protein together forms viral RNA dependent RNA polymerase; where catalytic functions for RNA polymerization, capping and poly-A polymerase resides within the L protein and P acts as a transcriptional activator. Matrix protein glues the encapsidated genome RNA, also known as nucleocapsid, with the outer membrane envelope. G protein spikes out of the membrane and acts as a major antigenic determinant. Viral life cycle is

cytosolic The cytosol, also known as cytoplasmic matrix or groundplasm, is one of the liquids found inside cells ( intracellular fluid (ICF)). It is separated into compartments by membranes. For example, the mitochondrial matrix separates the mitochondri ...

. During transcription, viral polymerase synthesizes five discrete mRNAs and obeys to stop signals that are present at the gene boundaries. Accumulation of adequate amounts of viral proteins within infected cells through viral transcription and subsequent translation potentiate the onset of viral replicative cycle. In this phase, same L protein acts as a replicase and ignore the gene junctions to generate a

polycistronic A cistron is an alternative term for "gene". The word cistron is used to emphasize that genes exhibit a specific behavior in a cis-trans test; distinct positions (or loci) within a genome are cistronic. History The words ''cistron'' and ''gene ...

anti-genomic analogue that acts as a template for further rounds of replication to generate many more copies of the genome RNA. This progeny genome RNA upon packaging by viral proteins bud out as mature virus particles. The precise mechanism underlying the switch in polymerase function during viral replication remains unknown.

Recent outbreaks

In 2003, 329 people died in outbreak in

and Maharashtra. In 2009, the virus infected 52 people and claimed 15 lives. In 2010, a total of 50 people contracted the virus and 16 died. A majority of the infected patients were below 14 years of age. Between 2009 and 2011, 110 tested positive, and 11 died in 2011. An outbreak in

Kheda District Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...

Vadodara District Vadodara District also known as Baroda District is a district in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat in western India. The city of Vadodara (Baroda), in the western part of the district, is the administrative headquarters. Vadodara Distric ...

, and

Panchmahal District Panchmahal, also known as Panch Mahals, is a district in the eastern portion of Gujarat State western India. ''Panch-mahal'' means "five tehsils/talukas" (5 sub-divisions), and refers to the five sub-divisions that were transferred by the Maharaj ...

had killed 17 people in 2010.

Sandfly Sandfly (or sand fly) is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking dipteran (fly) encountered in sandy areas. In the United States, ''sandfly'' may refer to certain horse flies that are also known as "greenhea ...

bites are blamed as they inhabit cracks in walls or parts of homes made of sand or mud. The sporadic cases appeared in Gujarat in 2014 and 2016. One girl died in Ahmedabad in 2016. In 2019 one girl died in Bhayli village of

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandipura Virus Viral diseases Vesiculoviruses