Nipah claims one more life in Kerala; public meetings banned

kozhikode (Kerala) — The death toll due to Nipah rose to 12 in the southern Indian state of Kerala, with one more person succumbing to the deadly virus in Kozhikode on Thursday morning.

The deceased, V Moosa, 61, had been battling for life since the past few days in a private hospital here and was on ventilator support. Kozhikode district medical officer, Dr Jayasree E told reporters

Although the number of patients coming for treatment with symptoms of Nipah virus infection has gone down, Kozhikode Collector U.V. Jose has banned till May 31 all public meetings and even training courses, including tuitions, to avoid assembly of people.

The University of Calicut on Thursday announced postponement of all examinations listed for this week. A public service examination has also been deferred in view of the current situation in the district.About 160 samples have been sent for testing at the virology institute and 13 cases have been found to be positive, she said.

Of the 13 confirmed cases, 12 people have died so far. The official further said confirmation is awaited with regard to one more death in Kozhikode.

This is the fourth death in Moosa’s family. Moosa’s sons Mohammed Saliah, 28, Mohammed Sadiq, 26 and a relative Mariumma had died earlier.

While two of the deaths have been confirmed due to Nipah, the blood samples of one of his sons had not been tested for the virus, sources said.

Nurse Lini Puthussery, who had initially treated members of Moosa’s family who had been affected at Perambra Taluk hospital in the district, also died after being infected by the virus.

The state government has also issued an advisory, asking travellers to avoid visiting the four districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kannur.

“Travelling to any part of Kerala is safe. However, if travellers wish to be extra cautious, they may avoid the four districts,” Health Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan said.

The government has also called for an all-party meeting at Kozhikode on May 25 to discuss the issue. Most of the deaths reported are from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

Isolation wards have also been set up in Thalassery government hospital in Kannur, according to media reports.

In Kozhikode, from where seven deaths have been reported, District Collector U V Jose has ordered temporary stoppage of all training programmes and summer camps in affected areas such as Changaroth, Koorachund, Kottur, Cheruvannur, Chekyad, Chakkittapara and Olavanna.

Meanwhile the authorities have come out with a protocol to be carried out when the last rites of victims of NiP are carried out.

While cremation is favoured as the best method to stop the further spread of infection, in case families opt for burial, the body will have to be covered in a polythene bag and then put into a very deep pit.

The anganwadis in these regions too have been asked to close down to avoid spread of the virus among children. A crisis management group has been constituted to coordinate the response of government agencies following the deaths in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

An expert team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr S K Jain, and a high-level team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are camping in Kerala to take stock of the situation. —