Nipah virus sets off alarm bells in Kerala as 12 die
Twelve people have died of a suspected deadly virus outbreak in Kerala, setting off panic with people rushing to hospitals and the Centre sending in a team of experts to contain the spread of the infection.
Officials have confirmed only three deaths. But reports put the toll at 12, six each in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, as body fluids have to be tested for the viral infection, the symptoms of which include fever, severe headache, and respiratory illness, to be confirmed.
The three deaths from the Nipah virus were all from the same family, Kerala health minister KK Shailaja said.
There is no vaccine for Nipah, which has a mortality rate of 70% in India. It is an emerging infection that can be transmitted to humans from animals.
Humans get infected by consuming fruit or date palm sap contaminated by infected bats but human-to-human transmission, normally through body fluids, was documented in West Bengal’s Siliguri in 2001.
This is the first Nipah outbreak in Kerala.
Mohamed Saliah (28), his brother Mohammed Sadik (26)
KOZHIKODE:
and their paternal aunt Mariumma (50) died between May 5 and 19 in Kozhikode district’s Changaroth village. A nurse, Lini, who attended on them at the local government hospital, too, is dead.
The father of the two men, Valachekutti Moosa, is under treatment for high fever, as are many others .
“We have found a large number of bats in the well of Moosa’s house and we suspect these are mainly responsible for the virus,” Shailaja said. The well had been closed and nearby wells were being checked as well, she said.
“She was suffering from 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 took some precautions,” Lini’s mother said.
The death of the health staff has added to the panic. “We have taken enough measures to protect the medical staff. All efforts will be done to ensure their safety,” said Shailaja, who has been camping in Kozhikode for the last two days.
At least 30 families in neighbourhood have been vacated.