In Kerala’s Kozhikode district, two people have passed away and four others are receiving medical attention after getting the Nipah virus.
One victim’s close relatives are the four people receiving treatment.
Following the two deaths, the Department of Health had already issued an advisory for the district.
The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune received samples from the deceased people as well as from those receiving treatment who had symptoms resembling a Nipah virus infection. These samples were sent there for confirmation and final testing.
Health Minister Veena George had previously assured the media that the lab findings for the samples will be available by nightfall when she arrived in Kozhikode on Tuesday morning for a high-level meeting to assess the issue.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that can spread from animals to humans and then among humans. The virus is named after a Malaysian village it was first detected in. Fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, are hosts for Nipah virus.
Fruits bats infected by the virus are spread the infection to humans or other animals. Close contact with an infected animal or with its body fluids carry high risk of transmission. An infected person can pass on the virus to another.
