Awaiting results of 11 samples sent to NIV Pune for Nipah virus: Kerala govt
On Wednesday, a 24-year-old health worker became Kerala’s fifth confirmed Nipah case since its recent outbreak
The Kerala government is waiting for results of 11 samples which were sent to NIV Pune for testing for the deadly Nipah virus, officials said on Thursday, even as three central teams are visiting the virus-affected panchayats in Kozhikode district.
In wake of the virus outbreak, the state government has closed all educational institutions in northern Kerala district on Thursday and Friday, Kozhikode district collector A Geetha announced on Facebook post, adding that the classes will be conducted online.
However, there will be no change in the university exams schedule, she added.
A 24-year old health worker became Kerala’s fifth confirmed Nipah case on Wednesday ever since the outbreak.
“We are expecting results of 11 samples sent to NIV, Pune for testing by this evening. The samples were taken from persons who have shown signs of Nipah,” said a state government official.
He added that 13 patients with mild symptoms are being monitored in the district hospital, and only a 9-year-old child is in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Officials said that monoclonal antibodies have been ordered from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to treat the child.
A team from the health ministry, NIV, Pune and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are also visiting the affected panchayats to ascertain reasons for Nipah outbreak, officials said.
The virus strain seen in the state was the Bangladesh variant which spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious, the government said.
The condition of all 76 people who are in the high-risk contact category remains stable, state health minister Veena George had said.
Also Read: Health worker tests Nipah positive in Kerala, confirmed cases tally at 5
The government has also set up a control room in Wayanad following the outbreak in Kozhikode.
The Wayanad district administration also constituted 15 core committees to lead the prevention and surveillance activities and effectively deal with emergency situations.
A review meeting chaired by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also held on Wednesday.
After the meeting, state health minister Veena George had said all the possible prevention measures are in place and there is no need to panic.
The minister had also said the World Health Organisation (WHO) and ICMR studies found out that the entire state of Kerala is prone to getting such infections, not just Kozhikode.
Four more wards - three in Villyapally panchayat and one in Purameri panchayat- in Kozhikode district were declared as containment zones on Wednesday in addition to those announced on Tuesday.
The Kozhikode administration had on Tuesday declared seven village panchayats namely Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara as containment zones.
(With PTI inputs)
