Kerala On High Alert After Youth Tests Positive For Nipah Virus, More Than 80 Under Observation

Nearly a year after Kerala was hit by an outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus, the deadly infection has resurfaced in the state. Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Tuesday confirmed that a 23-year-old who was admitted in a private hospital in Kochi with suspected symptoms was tested positive for Nipah.

BCCL

The minister announced the first case of Nipah case in the state this year after the sample sent to National Institute of Virology, in Pune confirmed the infection.? Earlier, samples tested at two virology institutes, Manipal Institute of Virology and Kerala Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases had indicated Nipah.

BCCL

A friend of the engineering student who tested positive and two nurses who took care of the patient have also been put under observation. The patient's friend has also been shifted to the isolation ward.

“The condition of the youth is now stable and he is not on the life support system. The situation is under control. As the government had addressed the Nipah outbreak in an effective manner last year, we are fully confident to meet any eventualities. People should cooperate with the general guidelines and precautionary measures issued by the health department,” the minister said.

Around 80 people who had come into contact with the youth in the past few days have been placed under observation though there are no immediate reports of anyone having any symptoms.

Following the outbreak, the Kerala Government has opened a control room to address the concerns of the general public.

A team of six doctors from AIIMS has also reached Kochi as isolation wards were opened in Idukki and Thodupuzha, from where the youth is suspected to have contracted the virus.

BCCL

Last year, around the same time parts of Kerala, was hit by the viral infection killing 17 people. What made the outbreak deadly is that there is no known treatment for the infection and Nipah had not been reported in India in the past.

Despite the odds, Kerala managed to contain the infection on time and made sure that it did not turn out to be an epidemic. Kerala had won praises from all over the world including the WHO how it managed to stop the spread of the virus.