Kerala's Health Minister Speaks on New Nipah Strain, Says 'Less Infectious, Has High Death Rate'

Nipah Virus: The state administration said today in the assembly that teams from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, will arrive in Kerala throughout the day to set up a mobile lab at Kozhikode Medical College to test for Nipah and conduct bat surveys. The action follows the confirmation of four Nipah infections in the state's Kozhikode district.

Kerala Health Minister Identifies Nipah Strain Origin and Characteristics

State Health Minister Veena George responded to a question on the Nipah infection in the assembly by stating that the virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh form, which travels from person to person and has a high fatality rate despite being less contagious. In addition to the teams from NIV, Pune, Ms. George added that an epidemiology team would arrive in Kerala today from Chennai to conduct a survey. She also informed the House that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has consented to fly down the monoclonal antibodies needed to treat Nipah patients. During the Question-and-Answer period, CPI MLA P Balachandran asked the minister about the steps being done to combat the Nipah virus, which has killed two people and infected two more in Kozhikode.

Kerala Health Department's Comprehensive Measures Against Nipah Spread

Among the many measures taken by the Health department to stop the spread of the brain-damaging virus, according to Ms. George, were surveillance, contact tracing, classifying them as low or high risk, setting up isolation facilities for them, demarcating containment zones, and obtaining medications from ICMR for those who were infected. Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara are the seven village panchayats in Kerala's Kozhikode district that have been designated as containment zones. On Tuesday, shortly after the Nipah virus infection was detected in the Kozhikode district, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan encouraged residents to exercise prudence rather than panic.

Kerala Residents Must Follow Orders Amid Nipah Concerns

He had stated that "everyone should strictly comply with the police and health department's orders and fully cooperate with the restrictions." A nine-year-old child was one of those who had the illness However, his son, a nine-year-old boy who is now in the intensive care unit, and his 24-year-old brother-in-law are the two positive instances that were identified on Tuesday. The death of the first person, which occurred on August 30, was previously thought to have been caused by the comorbidity of liver cirrhosis.

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