A central team that reached Kozhikode in Kerala on Sunday visited the house of a 12-year-old boy who died of Nipah virus and collected samples of Rambutan fruit from the surrounding area to identify the source of infection. The team believes that these fruits can be infected by bats.
Experts said the fruit samples would help in identifying the source of the infection and confirm whether the infection was originated from bats or not. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Nipah virus is caused by bats and is potentially fatal to humans as well as animals.
The NCDC experts have further advised all the family members and others to be extra cautious and inform the health-related people at the earliest if there is any problem. The central team has instructed the local people to follow the protocol in and around their homes.
In order not to increase the danger, the strict protocol has been implemented within a radius of three kilometers of the Nipah victim's house. These areas have been declared as containment zones. Similar precautionary measures have also been issued in adjoining areas of Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Kannur districts.
In Kerala, 188 people who came in contact with a child who died of the Nipah virus have been identified so far. State Health Minister Veena George said on Sunday that the surveillance team has considered 20 of them as high risk. Symptoms of the Nipah virus have also been found in two of them.
He said that the two people who have got symptoms are both health workers. One is working in a private hospital while the other is a staff of Kozhikode Medical College. He said that all the 20 people at high risk have been shifted to Kozhikode Medical College and others in contact with the child have been asked to remain in isolation.
Also, the pay ward in the Medical College Hospital has been fully prepared for Nipah. He said that a three-kilometer radius around the child's house has been declared as a containment zone. Along with this, a strict vigil is also being kept on the areas adjoining it.
He said that we have asked the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to arrange a point-of-care testing center at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. NIV team will come here and help. If in the initial test, the patient is found positive then his sample will be sent to NIV, Pune for confirmation.
The report will be received within 12 hours. He said that the Ministry of Health will also release the route of the places and times of the last two weeks. Along with this, the department has also issued two phone numbers. 16 teams have been formed for tracing, monitoring, and other things the people who came in contact with the child. The child developed a fever on August 27 and was admitted to a local clinic. He was later taken to a private hospital from where he was brought to MCH.
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