A 38-year-old woman has tested positive for the Nipah virus at Palakkad district in Kerala, officials familiar with the development said on Thursday. The virus is also suspected to have caused a recent death due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Malappuram, they added.
The woman, who is from Nattukkal in Thachanattukara panchayat, is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district, added the officials.
“I got confirmation from the district collector that the woman’s fluid samples have come back from National Institute of Virology, Pune, positive for Nipah virus. The district health services have prepared a list of the places she had gone to and the people she may have come in contact with before testing positive. We have been directed to step up surveillance measures and declare certain areas as containment zones,” said Muhammed Saleem KP, president of the local panchayat with jurisdiction over the woman’s residence.
“All areas under ward 8 have been declared as containment zones while a few other wards partially in a three-kilometre-radius have also been adjudged as containment areas,” he added.
Meanwhile, officials suspect that the virus also killed an 18-year-old woman from Makkaraparambu, who succumbed to AES-related complications on July 1.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, officials suspect that the virus also killed an 18-year-old woman from Makkaraparambu, who succumbed to AES-related complications on July 1.
{{/usCountry}}“She died on July 1 after showing symptoms of Nipah. The test results from NiV Pune are awaited,” said Renuka R, the district medical officer in Malappuram.
A total of 345 people have already been determined to have been in contact with the two patients and Nipah protocols have already been implemented, said health minister Veena George. Out of these, 211 people are in Malappuram, 91 in Palakkad and 43 in Kozhikode district. All the people at risk of infection in Kozhikode are health workers, she added.
Health officials in these districts have been urged to check for unnatural or unexplained deaths in recent weeks, which could signal a potential outbreak.
As part of the Nipah protocols, 26 teams have been formed in each region for contact tracing, monitoring symptoms of quarantined people and informing the public, the minister said.
Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus that is transmitted from animals to humans and the natural carrier for the virus is the fruit bat (or flying fox). Infected fruit bats can spread the disease to people and other animals, according to the US-based Centre for Disease Control. Symptoms include fever, headache, cough, sore throat, vomiting and disorientation. Deaths may occur in 40-75 percent of the cases and the virus has a high mortality rate.
Kerala has reported Nipah outbreaks in the past few years, starting in 2018 -- when 17 persons succumbed to the infection. In 2019, a case was found but the patient went on to recover. In 2021, a 12-year-old boy succumbed to the infection and in 2023, out of eight positive cases, two died while the others recovered. In 2024, two deaths were reported. In May this year, a 42-year-old woman tested positive for the virus, but she eventually recovered.