Five suspected cases of the Nipah virus have surfaced in Kerala and swab samples have been sent to virology institutes in Alappuzha, Manipal and Pune, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said on Tuesday.
"Only one case has been confirmed so far. His condition is stable, he has not recovered though. The treatment is continuing,” the minister said, while briefing the media after a core committee meeting.
As contact tracing continues, so far 311 people were found to have been in direct or indirect contact with the patient.
“Five suspected cases are there, but they are not exhibiting any severe symptoms. This includes three nurses, one student who studied with him and a person from Chalakudy in Thrissur who did not come in direct contact with the person. They are admitted at the isolation ward at Medical College, Kalamassery and medication is being administered," according to the minister.
Shailaja also noted that a team from the Union Health Department consisting of experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has arrived in Kerala. “They have started to trace the source of the infection and they will call for more experts if needed. The medicine being administered is ribavirin as per the Center team's advice as well. The Chief Minister is monitoring the situation and the Union health minister is also getting updates. Coordination between the two has been going well," she said.
"As of now the situation is not precarious, but we need to take the utmost care. The most important thing is to follow the instructions of the Health Department. We received 110 calls to the call centre on Tuesday, among which seven were fever cases. The call center will function round the clock," she added.
High-priority list tomorrow
A high-priority list will be announced tomorrow after those who came in contact with the person are analysed.
"Those who might have a chance to come in contact with the fluid of the person and those who continuously spent twelve hours with him are at high risk. Other type of contacts come under low risk,” said Health Secretary Rajan N Khobragade, though he added that not all are necessarily at risk.
“Prioritisation is based on high risk and low risk. We will be monitoring all these people. High-priority list will be announced tomorrow after analysing the list," he said.
Virology institute strengthened
The State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases in Alappuzha will be strengthened, following news of the latest suspected cases of the Nipah virus.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has classified labs into four types or levels (biosafety levels or BSLs) based on the organisms which are handled in such a lab/institute. Only a lab certified as BSL 4 is allowed to handle extremely dangerous pathogens, such as Ebola. An institute with BSL 1 works with less risky organisms. BSL 3 or 4 is required to handle the Nipah virus.
Approval from the ICMR for upgrading the Kozhikode institute to a level two was only received in May, and though the institute in Thiruvananthapuram will be developing as a level-three institute, it is not yet fully functional.
Though the Alappuzha institute does not yet have BSL 3, examinations at a level three can be conducted there, the minister said.
"It's not possible to set up level-three or level-four institutes in all districts. Even advanced countries don't have such facilities. There are certain norms to be followed for setting up virology institutes," the minister added.
School reopening
The minister noted that the Health Department will soon conduct meetings with education officials to determine whether the state reopening of school should be postponed, if the situation worsens on Wednesday. Schools are currently set to reopen on June 6 after summer vacation.