Chennai: After Nipah Virus cases resurfaced in Kerala, bordering districts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have tighetened the surveillance amongst passengers shuffling between states. A special ward for Nipah Virus patients has been set up in Government Rajaji Hospital In Madurai.
Confirming there is no Nipah Virus case in the Government Rajaji Hospital, Head of the Department of Medicine, Dr Natarajan said "We don't have any case of Nipah Virus as of now, but we're prepared. All beds are equipped with ventilator & oxygen support."
Also read | Tamil Nadu Govt To Propose Bill For Increasing Former Legislators' Pension, Announces CM MK Stalin
Amid Nipah scare in the state, Coimbatore district collector, Dr GS Sameeran debunked wrong information reported of Nipah Virus case registerted in the dsitrict. Taking to Twitter, he said: "This is a wrong information. One Nipha case has been reported in Calicut,Kerala. In Coimbatore we are taking all necessary precautions in the border, I have told on record."
Meanwhile, passengers travelling from Kerala and entering Tamil Nadu have to cross 13 checkpoints with negative RT-PCR report being mandatory. Centre advised people to follow strict public health measures and also made 14-day quarantine mandatory of the contacts
According to World Health Organization (WHO), Nipah Virus is caused due to fruit bats. It is fatal to both humans and animals. Symptoms of the fatal disease includes fever, muscular pain, headache, dizziness and nausea.