Nipah Virus Outbreak Update: Kerala Health Minister Reports 175 People in Contact List

Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala

Nipah Virus Outbreak Update: The Health Minister of Kerala, Veena George has stated that 175 people in the Malappuram district had been put in the contact list following the Nipah virus outbreak as reported by news agency ANI.

The social network analysis shows that, of the 175 people this individual had contact with, the index case of recent Nipah virus, 74 are healthcare personnel. Hence, the primary contact list comprises 126 individuals, and 104 people from the list are considered to be at high risk, 49 others are categorized under secondary contact.

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The ten patients on the list, there are those who are admitted at Manjeri Medical College Hospital for treatment. The health minister also mentioned that 13 individuals are being sampled, while the results are still unknown. While, on September 9, a 24-year-old man died due to the disease after he contacted it.

This southern state, after experiencing several attacks of Nipah virus since 2018, recorded its first death resulting from the virus on July 21, 2024.

According to PTI report the Nipah virus antibodies have been found in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. Simplistically, fruit bats are a natural reservoir of the virus and spread it to humans where human-to-human transmission is possible.

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This was the second one this year and it was due to the Nipah virus, which the World Health Organisation had listed as a priority pathogen as it has the potential to trigger an epidemic. Currently, there is no cure for it; it is not as simple as polio, chicken pox, and there is no particular physician one may visit.

In efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, the state health minister Veena George has also declared five wards of Malappuram district as containment zones. All shops that lie in these zones shall be closed by 7 p.m, those other places where number of people tend to gather like cinema theaters, schools and colleges, Madrassas, anganwadis, tuition centers, etc. , will also be closed.

They have also been advised against, congregating in large groups, and wearing face masks any time they go out. In the Malappuram district, restrictions in the numbers of the people participating in the weddings and funerals and other ceremonies have also been put.

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