Nipah Virus

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday that the Nipah virus test result for another individual who had been in contact with the 24-year-old man who died of the virus in Malappuram last week has come negative, bringing the total number of negative results to 37. She said this after a high-level meeting led by her reviewed the situation here. Speaking to reporters, the minister said that two more people have been added to the contact list, both of whom are in the high-risk category. Among those on the contact list, 81 are healthcare workers. The minister said a total of 177 people are on the primary contact list, while 90 are on the secondary contact list. Out of those on the primary list, 134 individuals fall under the high-risk category. "Today, two people with symptoms have been admitted to the Manjeri Medical College Hospital. Including these two, a total of six people are undergoing treatment at the Manjeri Medical College Hospital, while 21 people are being treate

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Tuesday that 13 people who came into contact with a 24-year-old man who died from the Nipah virus in Malappuram district last week have tested negative for the disease. Of the total 175 people on the contact list of the deceased man, the samples of 13 people, comprised in the high risk category, were tested negative at the Manjeri Government Medical College in Malappuram, she told reporters here. The minister said the health department is making all possible attempts to check the spread of the disease by identifying a maximum number of persons who had been in his contact, and giving them preventive medicine. "The samples of those in the high risk category and the persons showing any symptoms are being collected and sent for testing. Samples of more people will be collected today," she said. Though the chance of any spread of the disease is unlikely, the samples of every person showing symptoms would be tested, she said. George further sa

This time, the victim was a 24-year-old man from Malappuram's Thiruvali panchayat, around 20 kilometres away from Pandikkad, where a 14-year-old died in July this year due to Nipah

This is the second death from a Nipah infection in Malappuram this year after a 14-year-old boy succumbed in July

The 24-year-old man who died recently at a private hospital in Malappuram was infected with the Nipah virus, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Sunday. George said the suspicion of Nipah infection arose after a death investigation conducted by the Regional Medical Officer. "The available samples were immediately sent for testing and it turned out to be positive," the minister said in a video message. The Malappuram native who reached the state from Bengaluru died on September 9, after which his available samples were sent for testing to Kozhikode Medical college hospital laboratory. Malappuram health officials said the results from Kozhikode medical college indicated a positive result, after which a high-level meeting was held by the health minister on Saturday night itself and initiated the necessary steps as per the protocol. Meanwhile, the results from National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune on Sunday confirmed the infection. The minister said 16 committees were for

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday said that out of the 53 confirmed cases of Chandipura virus, 51 cases were detected in Gujarat and two were detected in Rajasthan

The brain-damaging virus, which can spread from bats and pigs to humans, has surfaced in Kerala several times in recent years

Communicable disease scare grips people as Maharashtra reports 28 Zika cases this year

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday expressed condolences over the death of the 14-year-old boy who succumbed to Nipah in Malappuram. Vijayan said all efforts were made to save the teenager. State Health Minister Veena George informed that the 14-year-old boy from Kerala's Malappuram, who was under treatment at Kozhikode medical college for Nipah infection, died on Sunday. George said the boy from Pandikkad suffered a massive cardiac arrest at 10.50 am on Sunday and efforts to revive him failed. "He was on a ventilator and was not conscious. The urine output had reduced this morning. After the massive cardiac arrest, the revival efforts failed and he passed away at 11.30 am," she said. The chief minister, in a statement, exhorted everyone to work together to combat the Nipah virus and implored citizens not to destroy the natural habitats of bats. He also cautioned people against eating fruits half bitten by animals and those found abandoned, besides avoiding the hone

She informed that 214 people are on the primary contact list, whereas 60 are in high-risk and all those on the contact list should be isolated

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday convened a high-level meeting to take steps to prevent a Nipah outbreak in the state. The meeting was convened in the wake of an outbreak of the virus infection that was suspected in northern Malappuram district. According to local media reports, a boy from Malappuram, who is under treatment in a private hospital in neighbouring Kozhikode, was suspected to have symptoms of Nipah and his samples were sent to a central lab for a detailed scientific examination. As per a statement from the Health Minister's office, the final test results were yet to be received but steps, as per the Nipah protocol, have already been initiated in the morning. The actions would be coordinated according to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) formulated as per the government order with regard to Nipah prevention, it said. The health minister would reach Malappuram soon and lead the Nipah prevention activities, the statement added. Various higher officia

To help in vaccine production and development of monoclonal antibodies

Minister George emphasized the importance of extreme caution and outlined several key preventive measures

Scientists at the University of Oxford in the UK have launched first-in-human vaccine trials for the deadly Nipah virus which impacts many Asian countries, including India. The trials of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine, will consist of 51 people aged 18 to 55, which will be led by the Oxford Vaccine Group. Nipah virus is a devastating disease that can be fatal in around 75 per cent of cases, the researchers said. Outbreaks have occurred in countries in Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India, with a recent one in Kerala in September last year, they said. Nipah virus is carried by fruit bats and may also be transmitted by contact with infected animals (such as pigs) or from person-to-person via close contact, the according to the researchers. The virus, which is recognised by the World Health Organization as a priority disease requiring urgent research, belongs to the same family of paramyxoviruses as more well-known pathogens like measles, they said. Despite the firs

The Kerala government on Wednesday said that the ICMR has informed them about the presence of the Nipah virus in bats in the Wayanad district of the state, but there was no need to panic. State Health Minister Veena George said that the Indian Council of Medical Research gave this information based on its studies of the bat samples collected by it. "ICMR has said that it has found the presence of the virus in bats in Wayanad. It is a continuation of the ecosystem there," she said. The Nipah virus outbreak this year was in Kozhikode district, which neighbours Wayanad, and six persons were infected, of whom two had died. George said there was no need for the public to be afraid or panic as the information was being conveyed only to create awareness and to make people cautious and vigilant. She said that healthcare activities in connection with the virus were being coordinated and training was being provided to healthcare and medical professionals on how to deal with suspected cases

Kerala Health Minister Veena George has said that the effective and timely intervention of the state health system brought down the Nipah fatality rate to 33 per cent in its fourth outbreak. She made the statement in the wake of all four Nipah-infected persons recovering from the zoonotic illness. The government on Friday announced that a nine-year-old boy, who was among those under treatment for Nipah in Kozhikode, had recovered. The virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant, which generally has a high mortality rate, George said in a Facebook post on Friday night. This variant can cause death among 70-90 per cent of the infected people. "However, we have lost the lives of two out of the total six affected persons in Kozhikode, which means we have a relatively low death rate of 33.3 per cent," the minister said. The relatively early identification of patients and treatment using antiviral drugs may be the reasons for the low mortality rate, she said. Another signifi

The Kerala government has withdrawn containment in all zones and allied restrictions imposed in northern Kozhikode district as no new cases of Nipah virus have been reported here since September 16. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, District Collector A Geetha said all schools located in the areas that fell within containment zones would be opened and regular classes would commence on Wednesday. However, the collector urged people to continue their vigil against the virus infection, maintain social distancing and ensure the use of masks and sanitizer. All the institutions in the district had been closed since September 14, and online classes were being held after the virus outbreak was declared in the state on September 12. The district administration advised students to wear masks and carry hand sanitizers when going to their respective educational institutions. A total of six people were confirmed to have been infected by the virus till date, and of them, two died. Of the two deat

The district administration advised students to wear masks and carry hand sanitizers when going to their respective educational institutions

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the state will conduct a seroprevalence study on the Nipah virus being repeatedly found in Kozhikode district

On September 12, the Nipah outbreak in Kerala was officially confirmed. But for the last four days, no new cases were reported after the initial six