NIV teams set to arrive and set up mobile lab to facilitate mass testing; Chennai epidemiologists to conduct survey of bats.
Six samples have tested positive of the Nipah virus in Kerala's Kozhikode. (iStock)
Even as the number of people testing positive for the Nipah virus in Kerala’s Kozhikode district rose to four — including the two people who died earlier — the strain seen in the state has been identified as the less infectious “Bangladesh variant”.
However, Health Minister Veena George told the state Assembly on Wednesday, 13 September, that this variant, while less infectious, spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate.
George informed the House that besides the teams from the National Institute or Virology (NIV) in Pune that are expected to arrive in Kerala later in the day, a group of epidemiologists from Chennai was also arriving to carry out a survey of bats in the region.
The NIV teams are expected to set up a mobile lab at the Kozhikode Medical College to test for Nipah.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has agreed to fly down the monoclonal antibodies that are required to treat Nipah patients, she told the House.
Apart from samples from the deceased — 40-year-old Mangalatt Haris from Atanchery, and 49-year old Kallat Mohammedali of Maruthonkara — which returned positive on Tuesday, 12 September, the samples of four of their relatives were also sent to the NIV in Pune.
The reports, which came in later on Tuesday, show that two relatives of Mohammedali — his nine-year-old child and 25-year-old brother-in-law — have also tested positive for the virus.
Health Minister George said Mohammedali is now considered as the index case.
However, Mohammedali’s four-year-old daughter and another 10-month-old child tested negative for the virus.
It may be noted that both the deceased were from areas located close to Perambra, where Nipah outbreaks were reported in 2018 and 2021.
As per the state’s well-established surveillance measures and Nipah control protocol, mass testing will begin in the area where the latest cases of the virus were found, and some quarantine measures have already been put in place in the area.
George told the Assembly that surveillance, contact tracing, categorising them into low- and high-risk, setting up isolation facilities, demarcating containment zones, and procuring medicines for those infected were some of the steps taken by the Health Department to prevent the spread of the brain-damaging virus.
Seven village panchayats — Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara — in the district have been declared as containment zones.
The minister said as many as 168 contacts of the two deceased persons had been identified, and they were being categorised as high-risk and low-risk contacts.
The Health Department had sounded an alert in Kozhikode district on Monday night.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who confirmed the first two positive cases, said he was coordinating efforts with the Health Minister George, and that a team of specialists put together by the Union government would soon reach Kerala.
Providing details of two persons who died, Veena George said Mohammedali, who died on 30 August 30, suffered from liver sclerosis and also had some comorbidities.
“He died at a private hospital with unnatural fever. His death was seen as a result of complications from his comorbidities,” she told reporters.
But later doctors at another private hospital suspected Nipah when four members of his family were admitted there on 9-10 September with symptoms atypical of fever and pneumonia.
The condition of his nine-year-old child, who is on ventilator support, is critical. Two other children are stable and three of his family members are in isolation at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the other deceased person, Mangalatt Haris, was admitted to the same hospital on Monday, with fever and pneumonia like symptoms. The man died of cardiac arrest after his condition worsened.
Suspecting Nipah, when Haris’s contacts were tracked, it was found that he had come in contact with Mohammedali at the private hospital where the latter was admitted.
Nipah virus, often referred to as Nipah, is a zoonotic virus with the capacity to pass on from animals to humans, subsequently spreading among humans.
This virus derived its name from the Malaysian village where it was initially identified.
Fruit bats, scientifically known as flying foxes, serve as natural hosts for the Nipah virus.
The 2018 Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode caused widespread panic and confusion, forcing people to stay indoors and abstain from work and travel for several weeks, Kochi-based Dr Rajeev Jayadevan earlier told South First.
What makes Nipah dangerous is the high mortality rate among the infected and the fact that it can spread to close contacts. However, since it is not as free-spreading as Covid, the total number of deaths remains relatively less.
Dr Jayadevan added that even though the total number of deaths from Nipah virus infection is lesser than Covid deaths, cancer, cardiac ailments, etc, the outbreaks indirectly affect the social, emotional, and economic health of large sections of healthy and productive people.
Meanwhile, Dr Mohammed Asheel, former executive director of social security mission, said there was nothing to panic.
“We have a better system for surveillance and response. So let’s make sure people don’t unnecessarily panic even while keeping a strong vigil and public health action,” he told South First.
Doctors said people infected with Nipah can show symptoms similar to the Covid infection. Cough, sore throat, dizziness, drowsiness, muscle pain, tiredness, and swelling of the brain (encephalitis), which can cause headache, stiff neck, confusion, seizures, and sensitivity to light are some common symptoms.
A person might also fall unconscious, ultimately leading to death.
“People infected with Nipah will usually have a history of consumption of raw fruits, date syrups or may have come in contact with those with Nipah infection,” Dr Sanjay G, a physician from Bengaluru’s Shanti Hospital, said.
“It is always best to avoid half-eaten fruits, or those fallen on the ground. Ensure fruits and vegetables are thoroughly cleaned before consuming,” he advised.
Doctors said that Nipah can be transmitted through contaminated food and also from human to human. Greater vigil and stricter adherence to safety norms are needed to contain Nipah.
Meanwhile, Dr Jayadevan said handling a dead bat with bare hands could also be potentially dangerous. He also advised caution when people frequent bat-infested areas.
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
