Jena rules out Nipah virus in SCB patients

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Bhubaneswar: Referring to the news of eight Balasore youths admitted at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack, Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena rubbished the reports of the youth being detected with Nipah virus and called it a ‘rumour’.
Speaking to media persons at Secretariat here, Jena said, “After returning from their workplace in Goa, the boys were afflicted with some diseases following which they have been admitted at SCB Medical College and Hospital.”
Tests for swine flu and dengue have been conducted while other medical examinations are on to ascertain the cause behind their ailment, he pointed out and highlighted that all the tests have been found negative. Stating they were not affected with Nipah virus, Jena said, “It is just a rumour. There is no truth to it.”
“The treatment expenses of all of them are being borne by the state government. All necessary facilities have been provided at the hospital,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bhogarai MLA and Higher Education Minister Ananta Das also visited the patients in the hospital. “The boys are doing well. All types of tests were conducted and found negative,” he said. Das further said another 100 such patients are there in Balasore and will be referred to SCB, if required. The ailing youths, belonging to two separate families of Bhogarai in Balasore district and employed at a restaurant in Goa, had returned state after two of their inmates died of an unknown disease.
Soon after their arrival, they complained of severe stomach ache and fever following which their relatives admitted them to Balasore district headquarters hospital. However, the doctors failed to diagnose the disease and referred them to SCBMCH as there was no improvement in their health condition. The youths’ families had earlier expressed suspicions of them being affected by Anthrax or Nipah virus.