Nipah Virus: 8 samples turn negative, 5 awaited

Tweleve-year-old Mohammed Hashim of Pazhoor near Chathamangalam in Kozhikode district of Kerala had died due to Nipah virus infection on Sunday

No traces of Nipah infection were found in the eight samples that were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Health Minister Veena George told reporters here on Tuesday that the parents and close relatives of Mohammed Hashim (12) who succumbed to the infection recently as well as some health workers were among those whose reports arrived late on Monday. “It is a huge relief that the closest contacts to the boy have not contracted the disease yet. However, the incubation period is different for different people and hence all of them will continue to be under quarantine”, Ms. George said. She said the victim’s mother is now feeling better with her fever subsiding while a couple of others under observation have developed a mild fever. All of them are in stable condition, she the minister added.