Nipah Virus Case Confirmed In Kerala's Kozhikode, 12-Yr-Old Infected Patient Succumbs

Kerala Health Minister Veena George announced that the National Institute of Virology, Pune confirmed the Nipah case in Kozhikode.

A new case of Nipah virus has been reported in Kerala's Kozhikode

New Delhi: A case of the Nipah virus has been detected in the Kozhikode district of Kerala. The Central Government has rushed a team of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to the State to provide technical support, reported ANI.

The patient who got infected with the Nipah virus was a 12-year old boy. A high alert was announced in Kerala's Kozhikode after a suspected case of the Nipah virus was reported. Kerala health minister Veenu George confirmed that a patient succumbed at 5 am today (Sunday) announcing that the National Institute of Virology, Pune confirmed Nipah case in Kozhikode.

The boy was admitted earlier this week and his samples were sent to the lab of the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha. Health minister Veena George said that the primary contact list of the deceased has been prepared and that none of them show any symptoms but are being monitored.

"Unfortunately, the boy passed away at 5 in the morning. The condition of the child was critical yesterday night. We formed various teams yesterday night and have started the tracing. Steps have been taken to isolate those who are the primary contact of the boy", state Health Minister Veena Geoge confirmed while advising people to not panic, reported PTI.

Some immediate public health measures have been advised by the Centre which includes active case search in the family, families, village, and areas with similar topography, especially in Malappuram.

The measures also include active contact tracing for any contacts in the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts and isolation of any suspects, and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing, the ministry said.

The state government also held a high-level meeting of health officials late Saturday night following the information about the Nipah infection.

On 19 May 2018, a Nipah virus disease (NiV) outbreak was reported from Kozhikode district of Kerala, India. This was the first NiV outbreak in South India. There have been 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases as of 1 June 2018. The two affected districts were Kozhikode and Mallapuram.

The Nipah outbreak reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala in May 2018  was the third of Nipah Virus Outbreaks in India, the earlier being in 2001 and 2007, both in West Bengal. A total of 23 cases were identified, including the index case with 18 laboratory-confirmed cases. The outbreak was managed by the state government and central government agencies, reports WHO.