-yr-old dies of Nipah, Centre rushes its team

A ar-old boy died of Nipah in north Kerala’s Kozhikn Sunday morning, triggeroncerns of a possible outk of another deadly virus as tate continues to struggle the second wave of Covid-19 emic. ate health minister Veena ge said the boy was admito a private hospital with fever a few days ago, and was initially suspected to be suffering from brain fever.

“Unfortunately, the boy passed away at 5 in the morning. The condition of the child was critical on Saturday night. We formed various teams and have started the tracing. Steps have been taken to isolate those who were the primary contacts of the boy,” George said. At least 20 people, including the boy’s relatives and health care workers, have been put in quarantine, the minister said.

The minister said the infection was confirmed by the Pune NIV on Saturday night. “Three samples-- plasma, CSF and serum-- were found infected. He was admitted to the hospital with fever four days ago. But on Saturday, his condition became worse. We had sent his samples for testing the day before yesterday,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, the central government has rushed a team from the National Centre for Disease Control to the state to provide technical support.

Nipah virus is spread by saliva of the fruit bats. A zoonotic ailment sample of bats will be collected for further testing and a temporary lab will be set up in Kozhikode medical college to test samples, health officials in the state said.