Nipah virus stirred up Kerala amid Corona, Center left team after death of 12-year-old child
Now the Nipah virus has also entered the state of Kerala, which is badly battling Corona. A 12-year-old child has died due to Nipah virus in the state, after which the Center has also sent one of its teams to Kerala for technical assistance. This team will reach Kerala today. A suspected case of Nipah virus was reported in Kozhikode district on September 3, in which a 12-year-old child was found to have symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis. The boy was admitted to the hospital and died this morning. Earlier, the health department suspected that he was infected with Nipah but now after the confirmation of the infection, the death of the child has scared him.
The central government has sent a team from the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to the state to provide technical assistance. A health department source told PTI on Saturday that the state government held a high-level meeting of health officials late on Saturday night after receiving information about suspected Nipah infection.
Quarantined Child’s family and people involved in treatment
State Health Minister Veena George said that all three samples of the boy were found to be Nipah virus positive by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. The minister said the boy was admitted to a private hospital a few days back with complaints of high fever, and was initially suspected to be suffering from meningitis, but later the sample was taken to the NIV for further tests. Gaya. He said that all the relatives of the boy and all those involved in his treatment have been kept in quarantine. A total of 30 people related to the boy have been kept under observation by the authorities and 17 samples have been sent for testing. Health officials have said they suspect the virus was spread from bats, as was the case earlier.
These 4 big suggestions have been given by the center
It has also been suggested by the central government to take 4 major steps immediately. This includes the search for active cases in the family, village (especially Malappuram), active contact tracing of people who came in contact with the child in the last 12 days, keeping the people in contact in strict quarantine and keeping other suspects in isolation, for investigation. For sample testing and transporting it to the lab, it has been told necessary.
What is Nipah Virus?
According to experts, Nipah virus is mainly spread by bats. Such bats are called fruit bats which eat fruits and leave their saliva on the fruit. Animals or humans who eat such fruits become infected with Nipah virus.
Nipah virus is not new in Kerala
The first case of Nipah virus disease (NIV) in South India was reported on 19 May 2018 in Kozhikode district of Kerala. As of June 1, 2018, there were 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases due to this infection in the state. Even then, Mallapuram and Kozhikode were the most affected.
