Centre to deploy team to support Kerala in probing Nipah virus case

Union Health Ministry confirms Nipah virus infection in Kerala, deploys outbreak response team for investigation and assistance.

The government will deploy a multi-member joint outbreak response team to support Kerala in investigating a Nipah virus case detected in its Mallapuram district, identifying epidemiological linkages and providing technical assistance.

In a statement on July 21, the Union Health Ministry said a 14-year-old boy from the district exhibited the acute encephalitis syndrome and was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre in Kozhikode.

He succumbed to the disease and samples were sent to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, which confirmed Nipah virus infection, it said.

Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus, and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming bat-contaminated fruits.

Outbreaks of the Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) have been reported in Kerala in the past, with the last occurring in 2023 in Kozhikode district, the statement said.

The Ministry has advised the State to immediately implement public health measures such as active case search in the boy's family and his neighbourhood, and in areas with similar topography of the place the case was detected.

Kerala has also been advised to start tracing people who have come in contact with the patient in the last 12 days and implement strict quarantine for them, and isolation for suspects.