Lethal Nipah virus scare in Kerala

There is a health alert in Kerala after three members of a family succumbed to the Nipah virus.

The primary carriers of the virus are fruit bats; the virus is usually transferred through fluids. This usually happens when humans consume fruits or vegetables which are bitten by infected bats. A bat was found in the well of the house where the three deceased lived; the well has been closed.

The patient has symptoms like breathing trouble, inflammation of the brain, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. One can slip into coma within 48 hours.

The three family members who died included two siblings in their early twenties. The third deceased, a woman, was a relative who had visited them in hospital.

A nursing assistant, who had treated the three infected persons, died on Monday morning. However, it is yet to be confirmed if she had contracted the virus; the body has been cremated since then. At least eight people, suspected to have contracted the virus, are being monitored in a special ward in Kozhikode Medical College as well as three other hospitals.

According to government sources, 15 people have died of a similar illness in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. Nipah virus is also capable of infecting pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, the WHO says on its website. Union Health Minister JP Nadda tweeted that he had asked the chief of the central disease control body to visit the affected district and take steps. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office tweeted that a state-wide alert has been issued and that the government has opened a 24-hour control room to monitor the situation. NiV was first identified during an outbreak in Malaysia in 1998. In 2004, many were infected in Bangladesh after consuming date palm sap contaminated by infected fruit bats.