Chittoor District Collector PS Pradyumna on Sunday ruled out speculation that the Nipah virus had entered Andhra Pradesh after a nurse was admitted at the SVR Ruia Government General Hospital in Tirupati.
Addressing reporters after meeting the nurse, Pradyumma said that there was no need to panic and said that the nurse showed no symptoms of the virus.
The Collector said that the nurse was simply quarantined and kept under observation because she returned to her hometown in the district after a visit to Kerala.
"It was just a precautionary measure. There are no reported cases in the district and all steps are being to ensure that it remains that way. The administration is being vigilant and taking extra precautions to ensure the same," he told reporters.
Pradyumma also asked the local media to be cautious while reporting on the virus and ensure that they do not make people panic.
"I also request all my media friends to avoid whipping up public fear as the reports could be misleading. The public may misinterpret the ground reality if they just see one line scrolling at the bottom of the TV," he added.
Earlier this week, Indian Medical Association (IMA) President Ravi Wankadekar said that Kerala need not worry about the Nipah virus as the state is absolutely safe from it now.
State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that Kerala was indeed a safe destination as around 300 doctors arrived in Kerala from various parts of India for an IMA conference to be held at Kovalam.
State Health Minister KK Shailaja said that the medical teams of the Centre, state and the private sectors need to be complimented for effectively containing the outbreak.
"Of the 18 positive cases, 16 have died and the remaining two are recovering well at the Kozhikode hospital. In all we had sent 193 samples of which 175 were negative. Almost 2,000 people have been reported to have come in contact with the affected and this figure might go up. Things are in control, but we have to be very careful," said Shailaja.
IANS inputs