The Nipah virus has so far claimed nine lives in Kerala while several people are undergoing treatment in Kozhikode district.
The Nipah virus has so far claimed nine lives in Kerala while several people are undergoing treatment in Kozhikode district.
The nine deaths, which occurred over the past fortnight, were from the same family, including two siblings in their early twenties.
A nursing assistant, Lini, who had treated three infected persons, also died this morning.
Health minister Shylaja and Labour minister, TP Ramakrishnan who hails from Kozhikode, held discussions with officials and assured that the government had taken all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus, which has affected the state for the first time.
► What is Nipah virus
Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.
The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus.
► Symptoms
The Nipah virus (NiV) infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to the acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
► Is there a vaccine for NiV infection?
NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, according to the WHO website.
► First identified in:
NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia during 1998. Then, pigs were the intermediate hosts.
However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts.
In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats.
► State govt closely monitoring an outbreak of Nipah Virus: Kerala CM
The Kerala Chief Minister Office took to their Twitter handle to inform about the same and said they have contacted the Union Health Ministry and World Health Organisation (WHO) for assistance.
"CM Pinarayi Vijayan has informed that Government is closely monitoring the spread of the Nipah virus. The health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected & prevent the advance of the virus," the CMO Tweeted.
► Health minister Shylaja says
The minister said there was no need to panic as the virus spreads only through direct contact with the infected person.
"We have listed the persons who have got in touch with the patients. They have been isolated as precautionary measure," she said.
► Centre rushes team to Kerala
The high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been asked to assist the Kerala government and closely monitor the situation.
The central team includes Dr Sujeet K Singh, Director, NCDC; Dr S K Jain, Head of Epidemiology at NCDC; Dr P Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief (EMR); and Dr Naveen Gupta, Head of Zoonosis, NCDC, along with two clinicians and one expert from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
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