On Sunday morning, a 12-year-old kid was admitted to a hospital in Kerala's Kozhikode with Nipah virus symptoms and he died.
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On September 1, the kid from Choolur in Chathamangalam panchayat was admitted to the hospital. The diagnosis of the Nipah virus was verified in his samples, which were submitted to the Pune National Institute of Virology. Seventeen people on his contact list have been placed under investigation and will be tested.
A team from the National Center for Disease Control has been dispatched to Kerala by the Central Government. The team will assist the state with technological issues. Following the news of the Nipah outbreak, the state administration convened a high-level meeting of medical authorities late Saturday night.
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Those on the deceased's principal contact list, according to Health Minister Veena George, are not showing any symptoms but are being monitored. “It was established that three samples were infected: plasma, CSF, and serum. With a high temperature, he was admitted to the hospital four days ago.
On Saturday, though, his condition worsened. The minister stated, "We had sent his samples for testing the day before yesterday." George advised residents in the neighboring districts of Kannur and Malappuram to exercise caution.
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The officials have issued a health warning in the area and have roped off a three-kilometer radius around the deceased child's home. Police have been deployed to limit car and passenger movement in and out of Pazhoor (ward 9) of Chathamangalam panchayat, and adjacent wards of Nayarkuzhy, Koolimad, and Puthiyadam wards have been partially restricted, according to reports.
The Nipah virus was last identified in Kerala in the city of Kochi in 2019. In 2018, an outbreak in the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram claimed 17 lives.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that may be spread to humans by animals like bats and pigs. There is no known cure or vaccination for the illness, which has a high mortality rate.
Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family and Pteropus genus, which are extensively distributed in South and Southeast Asia, are the natural hosts of the Nipah virus. The illness is most commonly transferred from animals to humans, namely bats and pigs; human-to-human transmission, as well as transmission through contaminated food, is also conceivable.
THE CENTRE SENDS A TEAM TO KERALA.
The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has dispatched a team to Kerala to give technical assistance, the team will arrive on Sunday.
The Centre has recommended the following steps public health measures:
- Active case-finding in families, villages, and places with comparable topographies (especially Malappuram)
- The past 12 days' active contact tracking
- Contacts must be quarantined and any suspicions must be isolated.
- Sample collection and transportation for lab testing
WHAT IS THE NIPAH VIRUS AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU?
Nipah is a zoonotic virus, meaning it may transmit from animals to people. The Nipah virus is spread to animals and people by the saliva of flying foxes (fruit bats). Pigs, dogs, and horses, among other species, are commonly affected. If the Nipah virus is transmitted among humans, it can cause significant disease and even death.
A Nipah virus pandemic occurred in Kerala's Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in 2018.
