Five dead as Nipah virus fears spread

NEW DELHI: A deadly virus carried by fruit bats has killed at least five people in southern India and more than 90 people are in quarantine, a top health official said yesterday.

Other deaths are suspected to have been caused by the Nipah virus and authorities have ordered emergency measures to control the outbreak.

“We can confirm that five people have died from the Nipah virus,” Kerala state health surveillance officer KJ Reena said.

Media reports said 10 people had died but officials said final tests had not been completed on other suspicious deaths.

Nine people have been admitted to hospital with symptoms resembling the virus, which the World Health Organisation says is fatal in 70% of cases, Mr Reena added.

One of the nine has tested positive for Nipah.

“We also traced 94 people who had come in contact with the ones who died and they have been quarantined as a precaution,” Mr Reena added.

There is no vaccination for Nipah, which has killed more than 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India in outbreaks since 1998.

The WHO has named Nipah as one of the eight priority diseases that could cause an epidemic, alongside Ebola and Zika.

The virus induces influenza-like symptoms that lead to an agonising encephalitis and coma.

Three members of the same family are among the fatalities. Dead bats were found in a well of the family’s house in Kozhikode district, previously known as Calicut.

A nursing assistant who died after treating Nipah patients has been hailed as a hero by authorities.

Mother-of-two Lini Puthussery was cremated even before her family members could bid a final goodbye because of fears the virus could spread.

In a final note she scribbled in a hospital isolation unit, Puthussery urged her husband to take care of the children.

“I don’t think I will be able to see you again. Sorry. Please take care of our children,” she said.

Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Puthussery’s “selfless service will be remembered”.

Health authorities across the state were on high alert, setting up medical camps and a control room to tackle the emerging situation.