Nipah virus not confirmed in samples taken from 36 bats, says Kerala CM

Bat samples mainly collected from areas close to the home of the 47-year-old who tested positive for the virus, and subsequently died, in Maruthonkara panchayat of Kozhikode district

Samples from 36 live bats collected from Kozhikode in Kerala have tested negative for the Nipah virus, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

Health workers shift a man with symptoms of Nipah virus to an isolation ward at a government hospital in Kozhikode in Kerala on Saturday. (AFP)

“When the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) conducted virus sequencing this time, the results were similar to what was found in 2018 and 2019. Samples from 36 bats were sent for testing but the presence of the virus has not been confirmed. More samples of bats are being collected,” Vijayan said at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

State health minister Veena George said last week that body fluid samples from 36 live bats were collected through coordinated efforts of central and state animal husbandry department officials. These samples were sent for testing at the Indian Institute of Virology lab in Pune.

The samples were mainly collected from areas close to the home of the 47-year-old who tested positive for the virus, and subsequently died, in Maruthonkara panchayat of Kozhikode district.

The deceased owned a farmland where areca nut and banana trees are grown. Colonies of bats were often seen there, locals said. The 47-year-old who died on Aug 30 is considered by health officials to be the index case in the recent outbreak who could have spread the disease to others.

Kerala has reported six Nipah cases so far among which two died and four others are under treatment. The state has not reported any new infection in the past four days with dozens of samples of high-risk symptomatic persons testing negative. These results indicate that the threat of the virus has abated.

A second wave cannot be ruled out but it was unlikely, Vijayan said.

The virus found in Kerala has been identified as the Indian Genotype or I-Genotype and is similar to the strain found in Bangladesh. There are two known strains of the Nipah Virus — one is Malaysian and the other from Bangladesh, a separate HT report said.

The ICMR is considering developing a vaccine against the Nipah virus as part of a larger plan to develop a bouquet of essential vaccines.