Yet another Nipah virus case has been detected in Kerala as a 24-year-old health worker at a private hospital tested positive. This is the fifth confirmed case of Nipah infection in the state amid the latest outbreak, and the third active case so far. On Wednesday, September 13, a 24-year-old health worker in Kozhikode tested positive for Nipah, taking the total number of active cases to three, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said.
The samples of two deceased persons had earlier tested positive for Nipah virus, first confirming the outbreak in Kozhikode district. The two patients had died on August 30 and September 11. Subsequently, two family members of the first patient had also tested positive.
Read: Nipah virus returns to Kerala: Precautions to take and symptoms to look out for
Veena George also said that nearly 706 contacts of the infected patients have been traced so far, and 153 of them are health workers. "Of these, 77 have been identified as high-risk contacts," she said. All the three active cases, including the nine-year-old son and 25-year-old brother-in-law, are under treatment in Kozhikode.
According to the route map of the first victim (who died on August 30) released by the health department, he had visited three different hospitals — Shade Medical Center in Kuttiadi, Rehma Hospital in Thottilpalam, and Iqra Hospital in Kozhikode.
The second victim, who died on September 11, had visited five hospitals before he reached Kozhikode Aster Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), where the Nipah infection was confirmed. On September 7, he visited the Family Health Centre in Ayancheri. Over the next few days, he visited Iqra Hospital in Kozhikode, Family Health Centre in Villiappally, the district hospital, a private clinic, and Cooperative Hospital in Vadakara. Finally, he too was taken to MIMS where he died.
Earlier in the day, Minister Veena George informed the Kerala Assembly that all arrangements were in place to contain the spread of Nipah virus, including fully-equipped hospital beds.
Schools and educational institutions will remain closed on September 14 and 15, as part of Nipah containment measures. The district administration has announced several restrictions over any events and functions involving large gatherings.
The present cases have been reported about 15 km from where the very first Nipah virus outbreak in southern India was first identified in Kozhikode in May 2018. Another outbreak recurred in 2021.
Also read: How a team of doctors detected the latest Nipah outbreak in Kerala