A Fruit Bat
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: Nipah virus claimed the life of its victim – a 14-year-old body, in the Mallapuram district of Kerala today. The boy exhibited Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) symptoms and was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre in Kozhikode. However, the patient later succumbed to the disease. The samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune which confirmed a Nipah virus infection.
The 14- year-old boy died at the Kozhikode Medical College, making it the first casualty due to the virus this year.
The boy, who was a resident of Pandikkad in Malappuram district, was in a critical condition. He suffered a massive cardiac arrest around 10.50 am and died at 11.30 am, State Health Minister Veena George informed.
The Health Department has now published the route map of the boy and isolated people who came in his contact. The father and uncle of the child are in the Kozhikode medical college and four others listed in the high-risk category undergoing treatment at the Manjeri Medical College Hospital. According to the Minister, one among them has been admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to viral fever.
The boy initially availed treatment at a private clinic in Malappuram on July 12 and later shifted to a private hospital in Perinthalmanna. After suspecting that he may have Nipah virus, the patient was finally shifted to Kozhikode Medical College.
Addressing the media, the Health Minister said the number of people with symptoms are very less and that it is a positive sign that the virus is not spreading much. “We will conduct tests for everyone. People with symptoms will be tested first,” she said.
George said that the government has completed the procedure to collect the monoclonal antibody from Australia and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) received it on July 20. “ICMR shipped the medicine yesterday evening and it arrived here,” she added. Usually the medicine should be given to the patient within five days after contracting the virus. But the boy died before the medicine was administered.
The funeral will be conducted as per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Nipah protocol, authorities informed.
Since the first cases reported in 2018, 23 people have succumbed to the Nipah virus in the state.
In New Delhi, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advised the following immediate public health measures to be taken by the State government:
- Active case search in the family of the confirmed case, the neighbourhood, and areas with similar topography.
- Active contact tracing (for any contacts) during the past 12 days.
- Strict quarantine of the contacts of the case and isolation of any suspects.
- Collection and transportation of samples for lab testing.
The Ministry further said that a multi-member joint outbreak response team from the National ‘One Health Mission’ of the Union Health Ministry will be deployed to support the State in investigating the case, identifying epidemiological linkages, and providing technical assistance.
Also read: High alert for Nipah virus in Mallapuram
Additionally, at the State’s request, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management, and a mobile BSL-3 laboratory for testing additional samples from contacts. They have arrived in Kozhikode.
Hospital management in Kozhikode said the Monoclonal Antibodies had reached before the patient died but could not be used due to his poor general condition.
It is important to note that outbreaks of Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) have been reported in Kerala in the past, with the most recent one occurring in 2023 in the Kozhikode district. Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus, and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming bat-contaminated fruits.
– Reporting by Shankar Raj in Thiruvananthapuram with inputs from global bihari bureau.
