Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have decided to open checkposts at border points to check travellers from Kerala for any flu-like symptoms.
Published Sep 13, 2023 | 11:59 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 13, 2023 | 11:59 PM
Six samples have tested positive of the Nipah virus in Kerala's Kozhikode. (iStock)
Kerala records its fifth confirmed case of Nipah virus infection, the state’s Health Minister Veena George said on Wednesday, 13 September.
A 24-year-old health worker in a private hospital is said to have tested positive for the virus.
With active cases of the Nipah virus in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, two neighbouring states have sounded an alert and are even subjecting travellers coming from Kerala to checks for any flu-like symptoms.
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have decided to open checkposts along their borders with Kerala.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian told reporters, “There is no need to panic. We won’t face any threat. We will take the necessary steps to ensure that there is no outbreak here. Our health teams are monitoring the check posts.”
He said officials from the Health Department would screen people in all border districts, such as Coimbatore, Theni, Nilgiris, Tenkasi, Tiruppur, and Kanyakumari, as a precautionary measure.
The department’s Public Health and Preventive Medicine Division Director Dr TS Selvavinayagam gave instructions to the deputy directors of health services, especially from the border districts, to strengthen the surveillance of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) and to follow up on AES cases admitted from the bordering districts of Kerala, especially from Kozhikode and Malappuram.
He also said that government and major private hospitals should remain alert and they should ensure timely notification of AES cases to the district officials.
Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada administration in Karnataka sounded an alert in the district following the confirmation of Nipah cases in neighbouring Kerala.
The Karnataka Health Department has asked the police to open checkposts at border points to inspect goods vehicles entering the district. The police have been directed to check fruits entering the state from Kerala.
District Health Officer Dr Sudarshan asked the eight medical colleges in Mangaluru to keep under observation patients who come to them with suspected cases of brain fever.
Sudarshan told reporters that directives have been issued to taluk hospitals and primary health centres in the district to promptly conduct fever surveys.
Isolation wards have been prepared at key healthcare facilities, including Wenlock District Hospital. Private hospitals have also been asked to report any suspected case of Nipah or brain fever.
Though Dakshina Kannada had not reported any Nipah case so far, all precautionary measures were being taken after confirmation of the disease outbreak in neighbouring Kerala, he added.
Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George told reporters earlier on Wednesday that three samples had tested positive for the Nipah virus in the state.
“Contact tracing has already begun, involving 706 contacts, with 77 falling into the high-risk category and 153 health workers categorised as low-risk,” she said.
“Those in the high-risk category have been advised to stay at home and contact the call centre if they experience any symptoms. If anyone under isolation develops symptoms, they will be transferred to the medical college,” she added.
Additionally, a telemedicine facility has been set up and 19 committees have been formed to monitor the outbreak.
The minister also said, “Fortunately, none of the high-risk individuals have shown any symptoms so far and there are 75 isolation rooms available in the medical college, with only 13 individuals in mild condition admitted there.”
