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Nipah Virus: K'taka, Telangana on alert after 2 cases reported from Mangaluru; relief announced for Kerala nurse's kin

The Nipah virus has so far claimed 11 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in Kerala

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Nipah virus, which has claimed at least 10 lives in Kerala, is suspected to have been spread in neighbouring Karnataka with two cases being reported from Mangaluru district. 

The Nipah virus has so far claimed 11 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala. 

Rajesh BV, a district surveillance officer said symptoms of the virus were seen in a 20-year old woman and a 75-year-old man in Karnataka's port city of Mangalore after they travelled to Kerala and came into contact with infected patients there, Reuters reported. 

"They are not confirmed Nipah cases yet, so there is no need to panic ... the situation is under control," he said, adding that blood samples of the two people have been sent to Manipal Centre for Virus Research and results are awaited by Thursday.

Alert in Karnataka

The Karnataka government on Tuesday directed eight districts, some of them bordering Kerala, to compulsorily submit a 'daily outbreak report'.

The eight districts are Chamarajnagar, Mysuru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru, an official press release said.

These districts either share their borders with Kerala or have a large number of people from Kerala travelling to these districts.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services said those travelling to Nipah affected areas should be screened for 18 days.

The eight districts should have two isolation beds to quarantine suspected human cases and necessary logistics should be made available there.

Hospitals in these districts, which have ICU with ventilators, should be identified and kept ready to receive emergency cases, the release said.

Alert in Telangana 

Telangana Health Minister C Laxma Reddy said on Tuesday that the health department is on alert against the Nipah virus. Talks have been held with the National Insitute of Virology at Pune on the tests to determine Nipah, he said.

The state government has also spoken to the National Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) in Delhi and Manipal Centre for Virology and Research (MCVR), he said.

The government is setting up special wards with five-eight beds in the state-run Osmania, Gandhi, Niloufer and Fever Hospitals in Hyderabad and MGM hospital in Warangal, he said.

The government is also making arrangements to collect blood and others samples to determine the virus, he said.

He said people should approach the nearest government doctors on noticing symptoms of the virus, and that they should not panic. 

The department also directed district administrations to sensitise health assistants and ASHA workers, it said.

It has also listed out dos and don'ts to healthcare personnel to strictly adhere to while dealing with such cases.

No need to panic, says Centre 

A seven-member team of Union Health Ministry is working to contain the situation, Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey said on Wednesday. 

"All the areas which are affected by the virus have been alerted and arrangements are being made for more number of isolation wards in hospitals, as this is a contagious disease and spreads through contact. There is no need to panic. We have not issued any advisory yet, but if required, we will do so, based on doctors' input," he told ANI.

10 deaths in Kerala from Nipah

Ten persons have so far lost their lives to the Nipah virus in the northern Kerala districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram, health department sources said.

They said two more persons, who are suspected to contracted got the virus, have died.

However it was yet to be confirmed if their deaths were due to Nipah, they said.

A total of 116 persons, who had come in contact with the some of the infected persons, have been put under quarantine-- 94 in their homes and 22 in various hospitals, the sources said.

Kerala govt announces compensation for Nipah victims, nurse

The husband of 28-year-old nurse Lini, who passed away on Monday will be offered a government job, Kerala government has decided. Her two children will also get Rs 10 lakh each. 

Kins of other victims Nipah virus will also receive Rs 5 lakh each as compensation. 

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.

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