Nipah death reported in Kerala, 3 districts on alert

Health alerts have been issued in the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Palakkad.

At present, two patients have tested positive for Nipah from the tests conducted in Kerala and for final confirmation, the two samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, state Health Minister Veena George said.

"26 committees have been set up in each of these three districts to handle outbreak response, including contact tracing, containment planning, and public communication. The police have also been asked to cooperate," she said.

"As of now, 345 people have been identified and are on the contact list, and these include 211 from Malappuram, 91 from Palakkad and 43 in Kozhikode. The route map of the Palakkad patient who has tested positive has been put out," George added.

Health authorities in these three districts are on a high alert and have started putting in the prescribed protocols to be adopted, and this is done as a matter of abundant caution, even as the results from Pune are awaited.

Kerala has had five Nipah outbreaks since 2018, and since then, 22 people have died, while only seven have survived the ordeal.

Nipah virus is a bat-borne, zoonotic virus that causes Nipah virus infection in humans and other animals.

The mortality rate is high and stands between 40 to 75 per cent. What has troubled the medical professionals is that the symptoms of Nipah are similar to viral fever and influenza, and hence, an early diagnosis of Nipah is difficult.