A 12-year-old boy from Kerala’s Kozhikode passed away on Sunday morning after testing positive for Nipah virus infection. The report of the new Nipah infection which spreads through saliva of fruit bats comes three years after it claimed 17 lives in the state.
“All three samples collected from the child- Plasma, CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid) and Serum-were found to be positive in tests done at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune,” health minister Veena George said.
She said that an action plan was formulated in a meeting held on Saturday itself. “The child died at the hospital at around 5am on Sunday. The other close contacts have not shown any symptoms so far. The contacts of the child and the family have been traced,” addded the minister.
Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau in a statement said that the 12-year-old boy who presented with features of encephalitis and myocarditis was reported on 3rd September, 2021 from Kozhikode district of Kerala.
The Central government has rushed a team of NCDC to the state, which will reach on Sunday. The team will provide technical support to the state government.
“Active case search in the family, families, village and areas with similar topography (especially Malappuram). Active contact tracing (for any contacts) during the past 12 days. Strict quarantine of the contacts and isolation of any suspects and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing,” read a statement from Centre.
Ministers AK Saseendran, Ahmed Devarkovil and Mohammed Riyas attended the emergency meeting on Saturday along with the District Collector. The first Nipah virus disease outbreak in South India was reported in the Kozhikode district on May 19, 2018. As many as 18 deaths have been reported in the state till date due to the virus.
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