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No new Nipah virus cases in Kerala. Govt tells how long vigilance needed
Kerala reports no new cases of Nipah virus, with 42 high-risk contact samples returning negative. Active cases stable.
Kerala has not reported any fresh cases of Nipah virus infection, with 42 samples of high-risk contact returning negative results, state health minister Veena George said on Sunday. She told reporters that all active cases of the Nipah virus remain in stable condition, offering some respite from the deadly outbreak.
Among the patients receiving medical care, a significant improvement has been observed in a nine-year-old boy who was previously on ventilator support. The minister said that test results of more samples are awaited and may be available during the day.
Kerala has so far confirmed a total of six cases of Nipah infection since the latest outbreak in the Kozhikode district. Two individuals lost their lives due to the virus, bringing the number of active cases down to four.
Asked how long the vigilance and caution need to be exercised since no new positive cases are being reported, George, citing guidelines and protocols, said it is 42 days from the last positive case, reported PTI.
Nipah outbreak: Bats spotted at farmland owned by index case, say officials
The incubation period of the virus is 21 days and therefore, "a double incubation period of 42 days from the last positive case" is considered as the period during which caution has to be exercised, George said.
Stringent measures, including contact tracing, quarantine protocols, and public awareness campaigns, have been implemented in Kozhikode to curb the outbreak's progression. The health minister said police help will be sought to complete contact tracing as many persons who may have been in the area visited by those infected, deny having been there when called over the phone.
"So we will seek police help to get their mobile tower locations. It is only being done to plug the gaps in the contact tracing," she said.
The central team will be surveying the area of the 2018 Nipah outbreak and will look for any ecological changes there, the minister said. Meanwhile, the teams from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are also carrying out field surveys in the district.
"Bat survey is also going on. Bat survey was carried out last year and earlier this year too," George noted.
Studies by the World Health Organization and ICMR have revealed that the entire state, not just Kozhikode, is vulnerable to such infections.
