- By Ashita Singh
- Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:11 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Nipah Virus: Two more people, including a nine-year-old boy, got infected with Nipah virus, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday. Earlier today, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the two deaths reported from Kerala's Kozhikode district were caused by the Nipah virus. He had added that currently four patients suspected to be infected with the Nipah virus are under surveillance and their samples have been sent for testing in National Institute of Virology in Pune.
Here, Check the Top Updates On Nipah Virus Deaths:
-According to officials, among the two reported deaths, one person died this month while another death occurred on August 30. The 40-year-old person, who turned positive for the Nipah virus, had come in contact with a relative last month. His relative turned feverish on August 22 and was admitted to a hospital near Kozhikode on August 25, but he died on August 30.
-Union Minister Mandaviya said that a central team of experts has been sent to the state to take stock of the situation. It will also help the state government in the management of the Nipah virus infection.
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that the State government is viewing the two deaths reported from Kozhikode very seriously and that the health department has issued an alert in the district.
-The Kerala government set up a control room in Kozhikode and advised people to use masks as a precautionary measure.
-Kerala Health Minister Veena George, who arrived in Kozhikode on Tuesday and held detailed meetings with top health officials, said there is nothing to be worried but just caution has to be there.
-The Kerala Health Minister said the contact list of people, who came in contact with the two people, will be traced and all the necessary protocols, that are to be maintained, will be done.
About Nipah Virus:
The Nipah virus is a deadly-brain damaging virus which is transmitted to humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs or other people, was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak of illness affecting pig farmers and others in close contact with pigs in Malaysia and Singapore. There are no treatments or vaccines against the virus.
This is the fourth Nipah outbreak in Kerala since 2018. The first and worst outbreak began with a 26-year-old man who went to hospital with a fever and cough that spread to family members and other patients before it was diagnosed as Nipah. Twenty-one of the 23 infected people died then. In 2021 too, Nipah Virus claimed lives.