Ahmedabad:
A small village named Kolhat, 50 km from Ahmedabad, finds itself becoming a place of national interest. It is where a deadly virus - Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever or CCHF - has killed three people.
The first victim - 40-year-old Amina - died on the 3rd of this month. It was after the doctor and nurse attending to her at a private hospital died earlier this week that closer attention was paid.
Pune's National Institute of Virology says Amina most likely contracted the virus from cattle. Her relatives are being closely monitored by doctors, who believe her husband and brother are showing symptoms of CCHF.
The CCHF virus is dangerous - it brandishes a 90% mortality rate. And a delayed diagnosis makes medication ineffective. The medication required is the same as in anti-flu treatments. The government as well as private hospitals have the medicines to handle this. But the recovery in case of CCHF takes a significant time and delayed by a day or two in detection can be fatal.
But because symptoms include a fever, stomach ache, a cold - it's often mistaken for a regular flu.
"Around 33 medical teams have fanned out in six villages around Kolhat screening and monitoring villagers. More doctors have been deployed in these villages but so far we haven't found any other case,'' says Dr NJ Patel, the Chief District Health Officer, Ahmedabad.
The Animal Husbandry Department is also conducting tests on cattle in the area.