Monkey fever: Karkala asked to take precaution

Team Udayavani, Jan 12, 2019, 7:16 AM IST

Karkala: Similar to the monkey corpse found in Kundapur region, a monkey’s corpse was found at Chikkal Bettu in Hirgana village of Karkala on Thursday and in this backdrop, Karkala has been advised to take precaution.  Unnecessary venturing into the forest needs to be stopped. If necessary, one must completely cover one’s body with clothes. This disease is spread by ticks. It is important to take precaution in rural areas. Those normally living inside the house need not feel terrified since they won’t be affected, said Taluk Health Officer Krishnananda Shetty speaking with ‘Udayavani’.

The primary inspection of the monkey’s corpse recovered from Hirgana has not revealed any signs of the disease. There can be several reasons for the death of a monkey. It can dies because of fighting. It can also dies because of electric shock, falling from a height and also due to lack of food. If 10 -15 monkeys die at a single place, then it may be considered a monkey disease. As a precautionary measure, samples from the corpse of the monkey found at Hirgana, have been sent for testing at the lab in Shimoga. There won’t be any report regarding the death of a monkey in the forest due to any many reasons.

Increase in monkey activity

The Western Ghats section of Karkala including places like Edu, Hosmaru, Ajekaru, Bajagoli and Hebri are seeing an increase in monkey activity since a few years. But the symptoms of monkey disease have not been found here earlier too.