The Kerala government has strengthened measures to prevent the spread of Nipah infection after the brain-damaging virus killed two people and infected two others in this north Kerala district. Responding to a query regarding the Nipah infection in the assembly, State Health Minister Veena George said that the virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant that spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious.
George further said that besides the teams from NIV, Pune, a group of epidemiologists would reach Kerala today from Chennai to carry out a survey.
Considering the serious nature of the disease, the Kozhikode administration declared seven village panchayats as containment zones.
Meanwhile, Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.
Although Nipah virus has caused only a few known outbreaks in Asia, it infects a wide range of animals and causes severe disease and death in people, making it a public health concern. Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in, Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that the variant found in the state has a high mortality rate but was less infectious. In a Facebook post, Kozhikode District Collector A Geetha said that the panchayats declared as containment zones included Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George told reporters that the Health department got in touch with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and was assured of the availability of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Nipah patients admitted at a private hospital.
The health department has already issued an alert in Kozhikode following two deaths from Nipah infection.
The samples were sent to the Pune Institute of Virology for confirmation of Nipah even as the administration stepped up containment efforts in the district.
The Health minister informed that the containment operations were launched in advance adding that contact tracing and surveillance operations were also underway in the area.
George held a high-level meeting with the district officials last night to take stock of the situation and adopt necessary measures to check the risk of spread of the virus.
The Health minister, along with Public Works Department Minister Mohammed Riyaz, reached Kozhikode earlier on Tuesday to coordinate the containment measures with the district administration.
An emergency meeting was held with MLAs of the district, people’s representatives of the affected areas, the district collector, senior officials of the health department and other officials in the district. Nipah virus infection in humans causes a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection (subclinical) to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis. Infected people initially develop symptoms including fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting, and sore throat.
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Updated: 13 Sep 2023, 03:12 PM IST