Nipah outbreak: Central team arrives in Kerala; CM calls for high level meeting

Thiruvananthapuram: An expert team appointed by the central government is monitoring the situation of Nipah virus in Kerala's Kozhikode. Further interventions will be done on the basis of reports given by a team consisting of expert doctors from Ministry of Health. At the same time a special team from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)has reached Kerala today. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a high level meeting to discuss Nipah situation. The meeting will be held online at 4.30 pm.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George confirmed on Tuesday that four people in the state had contracted the Nipah virus. Of them, two are under treatment, and two have succumbed to the disease.

After the confirmation of Nipah, three central teams will reach Kozhikode today (Sept. 13). A mobile testing team from the Pune Institute of Virology and a team from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will reach Kozhikode today. The third team to reach Kozhikode consists of infectious disease prevention experts. They will work in coordination with health department officials.

Meanwhile, 43 wards in seven panchayats of Kozhikode are under containment zones. 1,2,3,4,5,12,13,14,15 wards of Ayancheri Grama Panchayat, 1,2,3,4,5,12,13,14 wards of Maruthonkara Panchayat, 1,2,20 wards of Thiruvallur Panchayat, 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 wards of Kuttiady Panchayat, 5,6,7,8,9 wards of Kayakkody Panchayat, 6,7 wards of Vilyapally Panchayat, and 2,10,11,12,13 of Kavilumpara Panchayat are under containment zones.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday (Sep 12) confirmed that the two deaths reported in Kozhikode district were due to the Nipah virus. The declaration was made while the state awaited confirmation from the National Institute of Virology in Pune Institute on samples supplied for testing of one of the deceased and four of his kin. The Kerala government established a control centre in Kozhikode on Tuesday and suggested that people wear masks as a precaution. 

In May 2018, the Nipah virus broke out for the first time in South India, wreaking havoc in Kerala. The epidemic in the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram claimed a total of 17 fatalities