What happened: NJORT deployed for Chandipura virus outbreak response in Gujarat and Rajasthan
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Union Government) deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to support outbreak response efforts in Gujarat and Rajasthan for the ongoing Chandipura Virus Disease (CHPV) outbreak.
The NJORT’s role is to supplement the work of the two State governments with extra scientific and field capacity, while the Ministry’s public health emergency functions also support the response through the NCDC Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC).
Background and earlier position: surveillance and investigations before NJORT
Before NJORT deployment, the response in the affected States was already being supported through scientific work and routine surveillance systems. India has ongoing disease surveillance under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), coordinated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), with collaboration from State surveillance units.
The Ministry described the current deployment as occurring alongside “sustained and intensified scientific investigations” by a network of national research institutions. These investigations are building evidence on the virus, including transmission dynamics, the clinical spectrum, epidemiology, and potential treatment-related approaches.
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