The Karnataka Forest and Health authorities have alerted their counterparts in Kerala on a suspected outbreak of Kyasanoor Forest Disease (KFD), commonly known as monkey fever, in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve lying contiguous to the Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary (WWLS) in northern Wayanad district of the State. With the Karnataka Forest Department confirming the death of eight Bonnet Macaques and two Common Langurs in the Bandipur forests due to suspected monkey fever, the authorities of that State have instructed the people living the villages on the Kerala border to remain alert about symptoms like recurring fever and unusual fatigue. The animals were found dead in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve close to the Kerala border beside National Highway 212 running through the reserve from Kozhikode in Kerala to Mysore. The authorities have informed the Keralites living on the border that they should look out for symptoms as the disease could spread to humans too. The incidence of the disease in Bandipur was noticed following examinations carried out after the death of over ten animals in less than a week. Sources said that symptoms of the disease had also been found in some other animals. Five guards in an anti-poaching camp had been affected and the condition of two of them was stated to be serious. A Forest official said that measures to avert spread of the disease to more animals in the region were being taken. Monkey fever was unlikely to spread into animals like elephants and tigers as the viral normally disease affected monkeys and humans, he said. A Kerala Forest official in Sultan Bathery, Wayanad said the department was closely monitoring the situation. A veterinary surgeon with the Kerala Forest Department said that the KFD virus was unlikely to affect human beings in the beginning stages. Humans were unlikely to contract it through air, he said. “However, the virus could weaken humans and this may need hospitalization. He also said that there was no immediate threat of a spread of the disease into animals in the WWLS. The viral disease was reported for the first time from the forests of Kyasanoor in Shimoga, Karnataka in 1957 and hence the name Kyasanoor Forest Disease. High fever, frontal headaches and hemorrhagic symptoms are the main symptoms of the disease. Morbidity rate is put at two to ten percent and between 100 and 500 people are said to be getting affected annually. The virus is spread mainly through air or directly through ticks. It is known to have a wide range of natural hosts like monkeys, rats, mice and reptiles. Humans contract monkey fever from bites of infected ticks. Doctors say that there has been no evidence of transmission among human beings.