People told to avoid the sick, dead cremated electrically

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Overworked doctors and nurses at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, are struggling to treat suspected cases of Nipah virus fever while trying to convince hundreds of panicked patients that their fevers and minor ailments are not signs of the infection.

The hospital echoes with the cries of the parents of Lini — the nurse at the Perambra Taluk Hospital who died after treating the first three patients from the Moosa family — who are inconsolable with grief. Lini’s two minor children are under observation for symptoms. Her husband works in the Middle East.

“She had fever and headache for almost a week. We never thought things will come to such a pass. My daughter would have been saved if the hospital had taken precautions,” Lini’s mother said, adding they were not allowed near her body.

To contain the infection, Lini was cremated in an electric crematorium by health officials.

She is believed to have contracted the infection from the three persons from the Moosa family who were admitted to the Perambra Taluk hospital, where she worked as a nurse.

Lini’s death triggered panic among the medical fraternity. “We have taken enough measures to protect the medical staff. All efforts will be done to ensure their safety,” said state health minister KK Shailaja, who has been camping in the district over the past two days.

“We have found a large number of bats in the well of Moosa Haji (the father of the two deceased young men, who is himself hospitalised) and we suspect these bats are primarily responsible for the virus. We have closed the well and are examining nearby wells ,” said Shailaja.

At least 30 families from the neighbourhood have been asked to move, while around 150 persons from two villages, Cheruvanoor and Perambra, have moved out on their own. The health department is also netting and culling bats to contain the virus.

Those who got infected directly from bats are all dead, and those who contracted the virus at the second level have either died or developed symptoms . Second-level cases are either relatives or people who nursed or treated the sick, said health officials.

Nipah is treated in isolation wards and the health department is confident that the good health infrastructure in the state will help contain the virus in a couple of days. People living in the affected areas have been asked not to travel and refrain from making any contact with the sick and their family for at least two weeks.

“We have been asked not to come to the hospital, my aunt’s body was cremated by health officials. They pleaded with us to co-operate and we finally agreed,” said nephew of another deceased, Janaki Amma. He said villagers noticed some dead bats and dead fowl a couple of days ago but had ignored them.

The National Centre for Disease Controls team has set up control rooms in all government and private hospitals in the area.

Three isolation wards were opened in the medical college hospital and doctors have been strictly advised to refer only patients who show symptoms of Nipah virus. All leaves of doctors and paramedical staff has been cancelled to meet the emergency.

”We acted swiftly and the damage has been contained to an extent. The government took note of the first three deaths and alerted the Union health ministry,” said Shailaja. The situation is well under control. Officially, we have confirmed nine fever deaths from the two districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram. Of these, four cases have been confirmed to be Nipah-infected.

Everything is under control and there is no need to panic. We have contained the outbreak effectively.