JNS: The health condition of four Nipah virus-positive patients, including the 9-year-old boy, now on ventilator support, is stable, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George while addressing the media persons on Friday.
The minister disclosed that an additional individual from Cheruvannur in the Kozhikode Corporation area has been identified as a confirmed Nipah virus case. The emergence of this new case adds to the ongoing concern surrounding the virus in the region.
Health authorities suspect that the virus may have been transmitted to the patients under treatment from an individual who succumbed to Nipah on August 30th in Kuttiyadi.
Minister George also revealed that the government has taken the proactive step of testing all individuals who have had high-risk contact with the infected patients, even if they have not displayed symptoms such as fever. This approach is part of the broader effort to contain the spread of the virus.
Notably, a significant number of individuals – approximately 1,080 persons – have been identified in the contact list of Nipah-infected patients in Kozhikode thus far. Of these, 297 are categorized as high-risk within Kerala, while 29 individuals reside in neighbouring districts.
“Those listed as contacts are currently under isolation, and samples of their bodily fluids have been dispatched for testing,” stated an official. Additionally, health workers have been actively engaged in conducting field surveys, covering more than 15,000 households in the district to track and mitigate the spread of the virus.
As the situation unfolds, health authorities in Kerala continue their vigilant efforts to manage and contain the Nipah virus outbreak, focusing on identifying and monitoring individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.
