Dead bats in HP not infected with Nipah: Health dept
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/NEW DELHI/
SHIMLA:The dreaded Nipah virus claimed one more life in north Kerala on Saturday, taking the death toll to 13 even as state health authorities intensified efforts to detect the primary source of the outbreak. Meanwhile the National Institute of Virology in Pune has ruled out that dead bats in Himachal were carrying the deadly virus.
The latest victim was identified as 62-year-old Kalyani Amma, who was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital last week. Three more patients are still in a critical condition and 21 people have been kept under observation, hospital officials familiar with the matter said. They added that she might have contracted the virus from a local hospital in Perambra. Four family members of Moosa and nurse Lini who died after attending to them were initially treated at this hospital.
The Himachal Pradesh health department on Saturday advised people not to get panicked on Nipah virus rumours as there was no possibility of it in bats found dead in the state.
Additional chief secretary BK Agarwal, while presiding over a meeting of animal husbandry, forest and horticulture department, said the type of bats that carry the Nipah virus are found in coastal regions.
“Bats found dead in Sirmour district were not due to Nipah,” said Agarwal.
Agarwal said that samples from dead bats were collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune a few days back, and all of them came out to be negative for the deadly virus. The institute said the bats died of some other reason.
“Bat is a carrier of Nipah virus but usually does not die of it. These bats might have died of some other causes,” said a senior Union health ministry official, requesting anonymity.
The governments of Puducherry, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh have issued advisories regarding does and don’ts and to prevent any panic reaction from people.According to health experts, Nipah symptoms are not specific and include flu-like illness and hence can be confused with any respiratory illness.