Kerala: 12-Year-Old Boy Dies Due To Nipah Virus Infection, Central Team Rushed To State

The boy's samples sent to the Pune National Institute of Virology confirmed the presence of Nipah virus.

The Union Health Ministry said on Sunday that a Central team has been rushed to Kerala.

The team , which will be reaching on Sunday, will provide technical support to the state, the ministry said.

Some immediate public health measures have been advised by the Centre which include active case search in the family, families, village and areas with similar topography especially in Malappuram.

The measures also include active contact tracing for any contacts in the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts and isolation of any suspects and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing, the ministry said.

The boy was admitted to a hospital in Kerala's Kozhikode with symptoms similar to those of Nipah virus infection, health department sources said Saturday.

The state government held a high-level meeting of health officials late Saturday night following the information about the suspected Nipah infection, a health department source said.

The Kerala health minister Veena George has rushed to Kozhikode Sunday morning to take stock of the situation.

The minister said the infection was confirmed by the Pune NIV on Saturday night.
"Three samples-- plasma, CSF and serum-- were found infected. He was admitted to the hospital with a heavy fever four days ago. But on Saturday, his condition became worse. We had sent his samples for testing the day before yesterday," the minister said.

George said none of the close contacts of the boy are showing any symptoms as of now and that the health department has already traced out the contacts of the child.

"There is nothing to worry about. The health department is closely following up the situation. Special officers have been posted and special teams were formed. The patient was first taken to a private hospital, then to the medical college and from there again shifted to a private hospital. So we have traced all his contacts. The friends he played with in his locality, his cousins and others, the health department had completed the identification and tracing of all these contacts," George said.

The first Nipah virus disease (NiV) outbreak in South India was reported in the Kozhikode district of Kerala on May 19, 2018. The state had witnessed 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases till June 1, 2018.

Nipah virus is spread by saliva of the fruit bats.

(PTI inputs)