Three days after a fresh case of Nipah virus was confirmed in Kerala, the condition of the patient—a 42-year-old woman from Malappuram district—remains critical, state health authorities said on Friday.
The woman, a resident of Valanchery, was admitted to a private hospital in Perinthalmanna on May 2 with symptoms of encephalitis. Her samples were later sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, which confirmed the infection on May 8.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus with a high fatality rate, transmitted from animals to humans.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said a three-kilometre radius around the patient’s residence in Valanchery has been declared a containment zone, as per protocol. The district collector will issue detailed orders, she added.
"The containment zone includes areas under Marakkara and Edayur panchayats. These fall under the jurisdiction of the Marakkara, Edayur and Valanchery family health centres," George said at a press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram.
She said contact tracing was initiated immediately after confirmation of the case. Seven individuals have been identified as high-risk contacts. Three samples each were collected from them, all of which have returned negative so far. However, experts caution that the incubation period for the Nipah virus can extend up to 27 days, with the risk of transmission peaking during the symptomatic phase.
Health officials said the woman, reportedly a homemaker, had not attended any recent public gatherings such as weddings or funerals.
This is the sixth Nipah outbreak in Kerala since 2018. The last reported case was in 2024, when a 14-year-old boy succumbed to the infection in Kozhikode.
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