Kochi: A year after two north Kerala districts were hit by Nipah claiming 17 lives, the disease resurfaced in the state with a 23-year-old student here confirmed to be infected with the potentially deadly virus. The government said 311 people from various districts with whom the student had interacted were under observation.
The results of blood samples of the student, which were tested at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, have confirmed Nipah, state Health minister KK Shailaja said here. The result came Tuesday morning, she added.
The government said four people – three who attended to the student initially and one person who studied with him – were suffering from fever and sore throat. They have been shifted to the isolation ward set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital here for a detailed medical examination. Their health condition is satisfactory, according to authorities.
Shailaja said the condition of the student, who is being treated at a private hospital here, is stable and he was not put under any support system like ventilator. “Good care is being given to the patient. The patient sometimes become restless due to fever…We expect a good result,” she told reporters.
The student hailing from North Paravur in Ernakulam district is studying in a college in Thodupuzha in Idukki district. He had gone to attend a training programme in Thrissur district.
The government urged people not to panic and take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease. “We have confidence that we can face it. We have faced it in Kozhikode last year and contained it,” Shailaja said trying to instil confidence among people.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also said there is no need to panic as the health network would rise up to the challenge.
“We are in constant contact with the Union Ministry for health. A team of experts have arrived in Kochi. Their guidelines will also be used to tackle the virus outbreak,” Vijayan said in a Facebook Post.
Extending all assistance to the state government to deal with the situation, the Centre has rushed a six-member team comprising an epidemiologist to Kerala. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also spoke to Shailaja to discuss the current situation and assured all support from the Centre to the state.
Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are the natural host of the Nipah virus. The virus can be transmitted to humans from animals (such as bats or pigs), or contaminated foods and can also be transmitted directly from human-to-human.
It takes its name from Sungai Nipah, a village in Malaysia where it was first identified.
PTI