No New Nipah Virus Case, 352 People On High-Risk Contact List: Kerala Health Minister Says Situation Under Control

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that no new cases of Nipah virus has been reported for the second consecutive day adding that the situation is under control.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George ( Image Source :ANI )

Kerala government on Sunday said the Nipah virus outbreak in the state is under control as no new positive case was reported for the second consecutive day and that the infected patients were getting better. "The situation is under control presently," said Kerala Health Minister Veena George adding that no new cases being reported was a big relief. Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode after a review of the Nipah situation in this north Kerala district of the state, George said the four infected persons were getting better, as per a PTI report. 

The four infected persons included a nine-year-old boy who was taken off the ventilator for time being, she added. 

Speaking on the treatment using a monoclonal antibody, the only experimental therapeutic available to the government against the virus, the minister said the present variant was only 50-60 per cent effective and that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has assured that it will get a new and more efficient version.

Nipah Virus | Kerala Health Minister Veena George says, "No new cases have been reported at present. A nine-year-old boy under treatment is out of the ventilator. Currently, he is on oxygen support. The minister informed that the improvement in the child's health condition is… pic.twitter.com/NuM4r6IGFL

— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2023

She also said that samples from 36 bats have been sent to Pune’s National Institute of Virology to ascertain the presence of the virus among the mammals.

So far, 1,233 contacts have been traced and of them 352 are in the high-risk category, she said.

The minister said that all the infected persons contracted the virus from the same person — the index case — who died on August 31, so it was clear that there was no second wave, calling the development a welcoming news. 

"It can also be proved through genomic sequencing which is being carried out," she said.

The authorities have completed house visits in 34,167 houses as part of Nipah precaution and 352 people have been put on high-risk contact lists, she said. 

"Currently the situation is under control. There are 352 people on the high-risk contact list. Health workers have intensified prevention activities in places where Nipah virus has been confirmed."