With five people including two deceased persons testing positive for the Nipah virus in Kerala’s Kozhikode, Health Minister Veena George said at least 706 contacts of the infected patients have been traced so far, of whom 153 are health workers. Up to 77 of them have been identified as high risk contacts, she said at a press conference on Wednesday, September 13. The Kozhikode district administration later released the route map of the first and second Nipah victims.
According to the route map, the first victim 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.
The district administration has requested anyone who were present at these locations during the aforementioned time periods to contact the control rool numbers 0495 2383100, 0495 2383101, 0495 2384100, 0495 2384101, or 0495 2386100.
The samples of two deceased persons had earlier tested positive for Nipah virus, first confirming the outbreak in Kozhikode district. Subsequently, the first patient’s nine-year-old son, 25-year-old brother-in-law, and a health worker also tested positive. All the three active cases are under treatment in Kozhikode.
A team from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare arrived in Kozhikode on Thursday and met Collector A Geetha to scope out the situation. The team, led by Dr Himanshu Chauhan of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), is expected to visit the virus-affected areas later in the day.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that is spread from animals such as infected pigs or bats to humans. It can also be transmitted through contaminated fruits (half-eaten fruits by fruit bats), and even by direct contact with sick persons. Symptoms include fever, headache, fainting and nausea. Some experience choking, stomach pain, vomiting, fatigue and blurred vision. The patient can possibly go into a coma just two days after the symptoms begin. The chance of contracting encephalitis or inflammation of the brain is also high.
