Kerala has initiated the Standard Operating Procedure after the boy from Pandikkad in Malappuram was infected with the zoonotic virus.
Published Jul 20, 2024 | 9:37 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 21, 2024 | 2:15 PM
Fruit bats (flying foxes) are considered to be the carriers of the Nipah virus in Kerala. ( Mini Anto Thettayil)
Kerala went into alert mode and initiated the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) after a 14-year-old boy from Malappuram was detected with the zoonotic Nipah virus (NiV).
Health Minister Veena George, who convened a high-level meeting on Saturday, 20 July, said the virus has been confirmed in the boy. The child, a resident of Pandikkad, was initially treated at a private hospital in the neighbouring Kozhikode district.
He was later shifted to the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode following his parents’ request. Labs in Kozhikode and Pune confirmed the presence of the virus in samples taken from the patient, reports said.
According to a statement from the Health Minister’s office, actions would be coordinated according to the SOP formulated as per the government order regarding Nipah prevention.
The health minister reached Malappuram late on Saturday night to lead the Nipah prevention activities.
Various higher officials, including the health secretary, National Health Mission state director, district collectors of Kozhikode and Malappuram, and health director took part in the meeting convened by the minister, it added.
As many as 214 persons — including 60 in high-risk groups — are under surveillance.
Monoclonal antibodies, required for treatment, have been sent from the National Institute of Virology in Pune and were expected to reach the state on Sunday morning.
Other medicines, masks, PPE kits, and testing kits were being arranged through Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited.
Thirty isolation rooms have been prepared at Manjeri Medical College, and a six-bed ICU has also been set up.
Assuring that there was no need to panic, Minister George recommended people in the area be cautious and wear face masks, and maintain personal distance.
Strict surveillance measures have been implemented within a three-kilometer radius of Pandikkad.
The state government had announced recently that a special action calendar was being prepared for the prevention of a Nipah outbreak, which has haunted the state on four occasions in the past.
Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021, and 2023, and in Ernakulam district in 2019, and the presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in fruit bats (flying foxes) in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram, and Ernakulam districts.
The outbreak in South India — and third in India — was first reported on 19 May 2018 from Perambra in the Kozhikode district. As many as 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases were reported till 1 June 2018.
Nipah outbreaks were earlier reported in West Bengal in 2001 and 2007.
Minister George said that the route map of the patient would be published. She requested those who were in those places at that time should contact the control room.
All samples from the high-risk category would be tested. Those with Nipah symptoms have been advised to contact the control room.
Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing.
If respiratory symptoms are present, the risk of transmission to others is higher.
Nipah’s uniqueness is that symptoms worsen over time, and transmission risk increases as severity increases.
It has also been directed to avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
“Those on the contact list should be in isolation. Even if only one person in a household is on the contact list, they should not interact with others. There is no need to panic. Those experiencing any kind of tension should kindly contact the control room,” George said.
The control room would also assist in improving mental health.
The state government also opened control rooms in the wake of detecting Nipah.
The Nipah virus is transmitted to humans from animals.
NiV was first recognised among pig farmers in Malaysia in 1999. It was also detected in Bangladesh in 2001.
In Bangladesh and India, the consumption of fruits contaminated with urine or saliva of infected fruit bats has been suspected to be the source of infection.
“Human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus has also been reported among family and caregivers of infected patients,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on its website.
Human infections would range from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory infection (mild, severe), and fatal encephalitis.
Infected people initially develop symptoms including fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting, fatigue, cough, difficulty in breathing and sore throat.
“This can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis,” the WHO said.
“Some people can also experience atypical pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, including acute respiratory distress. Encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours,” it added.
The risk of transmission would be higher if respiratory symptoms are present.
The incubation period has been found to range from four to 14 days. However, an incubation period as long as 45 days, too, has been reported.
“The case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%. This rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management,” the WHO said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu with PTI inputs)
(South First is now on WhatsApp and Telegram)
