Background: There is very little information about Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) an arboviral infection transmitted to man by bite of infective hard ticks. It is a public health problem unique for its existence in Karnataka State of south western India. Objectives: To know the prevalence of KFD in Karnataka state (from 2004 to 2012), to find out case fatality associated with it and to know its time trends. Materials and Methods: A retrospective record based study of KFD seropositive cases from the entire state (2004 to 2012). The data was accessed from the office of Joint Director, Communicable diseases, Government of Karnataka. The data was analyzed using SPSS Software Version 21.0. Prevalence (total, annual and period) was calculated for entire state and for each of the districts of the state. Chi-square test was used to know if the observed difference was statistically significant. Results: KFD cases are confined to only four districts of Karnataka state. The total period prevalence in the entire state was 1.054 per lakh population. Out of 556 cases, there were 16 deaths with an overall case fatality rate of 2.87%.Time trend shows a cyclical outbreak every 3 years. Majority (51.9%) of the cases were observed in the middle aged (20 – 49 years) males. Conclusion: KFD is limited to few places (villages) in four districts of Karnataka state with low overall prevalence & case fatality rate. Cyclical time trend indicates the potential of outbreak in near future.
Key words: Kyasanur Forest Disease, Fatality, Prevalence, Time trends, India.