Trisha Majumder
The 14-year-old boy from Kerala's Malappuram, who was under treatment for Nipah infection, died on Sunday. State Health Minister Veena George said the funeral will be held following international protocols.
The government will deploy a multi-member joint outbreak response team to support Kerala to investigate the recent fatal case - identify epidemiological linkages and provide technical assistance.
Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus, and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming bat-contaminated fruits.
Outbreaks of the Nipah Virus Disease have been reported in Kerala in the past - in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and in Ernakulam district in 2019. The presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts.
According to experts, the Nipah virus might have become endemic in the bat population in Kerala. Another reason experts consider is the tradition of drinking fresh toddy or sweet tree sap that might get easily contaminated by bats.
Dr. AS Anoop Kumar in an interview with the Indian Express stated that during 2018 outbreak, it was scientifically proven that Kozhikode bats indeed had nipah virus. He mentioned that other bats in other states did not have this infection but he added, "All Fruit Bats In India Are Reservoirs Of Nipah Virus".
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the teen patient who died on Sunday went to school on May 11 and till now there are not many cases of patients with symptoms. Earlier in the day, the Minister had informed that there are a total of 246 people in the contact list of the boy out of which 63 were under high-risk category.