How A Determined Kerala Fought And Eliminated Deadly Nipah Virus Outbreak In Just Five Weeks

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had listed Nipah Virus as Disease X, among the priority diseases which pose a major risk to public health, an epidemic caused by a yet unknown pathogen which experts are still working on how to act if and when such an event occurs.

But when the deadly virus outbreak was reported last month in Kerala, the state did not panic in front of the unknown anomaly but got its act together to fight and win over it.

PTI

And on Sunday when Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja announced that the last two cases who had tested positive have been cured and discharged from the hospital, it was a rare feat, a notable achievement considering how deadly Nipah can be. According to WHO, there is no vaccine or cure for the infection that has a fatality rate of nearly 75 per cent.

Good news. Kerala health model has passed a fire test. #NipahVirus is now totally under control. Spread of virus has been thwarted. Though, caution will be maintained till 30th of June. pic.twitter.com/84ffDFnXmz

¡ª K.K.Shailaja Teacher (@shailajateacher) June 10, 2018

Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja meeting Nipah survivors Ajanya and Ubeesh at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital/ BCCL

The deadly disease killed 17 people in Kerala, and was contained to two districts, Kozhikode and Malappuram.

To the their credit, the healthcare department in Kerala which acted in war footing scale, an outbreak that could have been disastrous was averted.

PTI

From the very beginning, the state got it right, with the doctors identifying the rare virus, which was reported only twice in the past in just the second case ever reported in the state.

It was a race against odds, to contain the outbreak, identify the carrier of the virus and educating the people about the symptoms and precautions all at once.

BCCL

After identifying the virus, doctors at the Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode, screened the entire family of Mohammed Saliah, who was tested positive and his father had died of the same infection.

As they feared, his younger brother Mohammed Sadiq and aunt Mariumma were also infected and later died of Nipah virus. A nurse, Lini, who treated them at a government hospital also succumbed to the viral disease.

But the tragic deaths gave the medics an idea on the seriousness of the issue at hand and showed them how to go about.

BCCL

More than 2000 suspected cases were screened, in Kozhikode, the district authorities, had asked to wait for schools to reopen in the new academic year and now schools. Public, including religious groups volunteered to avoid gatherings even iftars to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

And all the efforts paid off - Kerala managed to contain the outbreak in a matter of five weeks from when it was first reported.

Since there is no new case of Nipah for nearly 3 weeks, Kerala has revoked the advisory for tourists and said it is safe to travel.

Kerala's victory over Nipah should not come as that big a surprise, as the state has some of the best healthcare and human development indices in the country.

The state once again showed that no epidemic is too big to conquer if the administration, medical faculty and the general public can all work together. This is something that other states can learn from Kerala.