India, Feb. 12 -- Cases higher this year due to low rainfall, expert says

A viral outbreak of the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), a tick-borne, hemorrhagic fever, is on the rise in Karnataka, state health officials said. Two deaths and 53 confirmed cases spread across Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts have been reported this year as of February 3.

This recent surge is part of a larger trend of cases peaking every four to five years since 1957, when KFD was first identified in the Kyasanur Forest in Shivamogga District, government officials told Down to Earth (DTE) .

"After the 2019 outbreak, this is the next peak of KFD cases," Prashant Bhat, Udupi district vector-borne diseases control programme officer, said to D...