Nipah amidst a pandemic
The Hindu
Quick development of vaccines for tropical infections is a success of the coronavirus era
India is far from being anywhere near the finish line with regard to the coronavirus pandemic, even as fears of a Nipah virus outbreak have surfaced in Kerala . While confirmed cases of the viral infection have been reported several times since 2001 in West Bengal and Kerala, it was the outbreak in 2018, in Kozhikode, that made headlines after 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases, underlining the high infection-associated fatality. Outbreaks fanned by exotic viruses are not foreign to India: a glance at the weekly reports compiled by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme shows the diversity of viral or bacterial outbreaks that flash by with barely a mention, unless they threaten India’s metropolises as outbreaks of dengue, H1N1, chikungunya or malaria sometimes do. However, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic also draws attention to significant outbreaks that preceded it. Nipah in Kozhikode and Malappuram was the first outbreak where terms such as ‘contact tracing’, ‘RT PCR’, ‘antigen test’, and ‘PPE kits’ became part of the ordinary discourse in Kerala. The State’s public health system, earlier commended only for quality primary health care, earned appreciation for its ability to establish links between the infected and their contacts and to isolate them to prevent further spread.More Related News