General Article | Animal Biotechnology

Kyasanur Forest Disease: An Emerging Occupational Safety and Health Risk to the Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians

Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Simrol-453552, India

Abstract

The emergence of Zoonotic diseases in recent years has great impact on human as well as animal community.Among the zoonotic viral diseases, Kyasanur Forest Disease Virus (KFDV),an airborne zoonotic viral disease is of fatal concern. KFDV, a flavivirus transmitted through infective tick Haemaphysalis spinigerain monkeys and humans, causes haemorrhagic and encephalitic diseases accounts for 3-10% fatality rate.The risk groups of this disease are zoo veterinarians, workers, people dwelling nearby forest. Though antiviral drugs, Multiepitope and inactivated vaccines were used to treat and prevent KFDV, lack of specific efficient KFDV vaccinesandawareness about disease among people, the threat of KFD as an emerging occupational hazard will remain a significant challenge for the veterinarians.

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