Malappuram News: The 14-year-old boy from Kerala's Malappuram, who was undergoing treatment for Nipah infection, died Sunday, state Health Minister Veena George said. As per the Minister, the boy from Pandikkad suffered a massive cardiac arrest at 10.50 am, but efforts to revive him failed.
"The infected boy died on Sunday after a cardiac arrest," George told local TV reporters, speaking in the Malayalam language.
Earlier, in a statement on Saturday, the Minister said as part of Nipah control, the government has issued orders to set up 25 committees to identify and isolate affected people. Authorities in Kerala are also taking preventive steps after the boy's death and the identification of 60 persons in the high-risk category, the state's health minister said.
The Nipah virus, which comes from fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can cause a lethal, brain-swelling fever in humans. Parts of Kerala are among those most at risk globally for outbreaks of the virus, a Reuters investigation showed last year.
Quoting Dr. Anoop Kumar, director of critical care medicine at Aster MIMS Hospital in Calicut, a Reuters report said there is a minimum chance of an outbreak of Nipah virus at this stage. The doctor added that the situation would be monitored for the next 7-10 days.
As per the report, there are 214 people on the primary contact list of the deceased boy. Among them, 60 are in the high-risk category, and isolation wards have been set up at health institutions to treat them.
Family members of the affected patient were also kept at a local hospital for observation. Other people who might be at risk were asked to isolate at home.
The state government said it is working to trace any affected people to contain the spread of the virus. Nipah has been linked to the deaths of dozens of people in Kerala since its first appearance in the state in 2018. The virus was first identified 25 years ago in Malaysia and has led to outbreaks in Bangladesh, India and Singapore.
Nipah is classified as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) because of its potential to trigger an epidemic. There is no vaccine to prevent infection and no treatment to cure it.