Authorities are tracing the patient’s contacts and gathering details of her recent movements. No secondary infections have been reported so far.
Published May 08, 2025 | 8:01 PM ⚊ Updated May 08, 2025 | 8:01 PM
Suspected nipah virus case reported in Palakkad; samples sent for confirmation
Synopsis: A 42-year-old woman from Valanchery in Kerala’s Malappuram district has tested positive for the Nipah virus – the first confirmed case in the state this year. She is in critical condition and on a ventilator in intensive care, as health officials begin contact tracing and place her family in isolation. Kerala has seen five outbreaks since 2018, with the virus’s high death rate continuing to raise concern.
A new case of Nipah virus has been confirmed in Kerala, with a 42-year-old woman from Valanchery in Malappuram district testing positive.
She is in critical condition and is receiving intensive care at EMS Hospital in Perinthalmanna. State health officials said her samples tested positive for the virus at the National Institute of Virology in Pune.
The woman was admitted on 2 May with symptoms of encephalitis and has since been placed on a ventilator in the hospital’s cardio intensive care unit.
This is the first confirmed case of Nipah in Kerala in 2025. The state has reported several outbreaks in recent years, raising public concern.
Medical teams are closely monitoring the patient, whose condition remains serious.
“The health department has directed her immediate family, including two children, to isolate. A meeting with district health authorities and the Malappuram Collector is underway. We are still awaiting formal guidelines from the health department,” Veeran Parasserry, the Panchayat Member for Thaniyappankunnu ward in Valanchery, told South First.
“I have shared the required details with the authorities. The ward in question includes nearly 450 houses.”
Bindu Prasad, the accredited social health activist (ASHA) worker from the area, said the woman first developed a fever on 24 April and sought care at both private clinics and the government hospital in Valanchery.
“Her condition deteriorated quickly. Her son, who was studying in Bengaluru, has returned home, and her husband remains by her side at the hospital,” she told South First, adding they are awaiting further instructions from health officials.
Authorities are tracing the patient’s contacts and gathering details of her recent movements. No secondary infections have been reported so far.
Kerala has recorded five Nipah outbreaks since 2018, mainly during the monsoon season from May to September. The virus strain found in the state belongs to the Bangladeshi lineage, known for a mortality rate of up to 90 percent.
Since the first outbreak in 2018, Kerala has reported 22 deaths and six survivors. Previous cases were largely concentrated in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, with fruit bats and hospital-based transmissions identified as key sources.
The state health department is expected to issue updated containment guidelines soon.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
