Following the death of a 14-year-old boy from the Nipah virus in Malappuram, Kerala’s health department confirmed that the boy had consumed hog plum fruit from his neighborhood, where fruit bats—known carriers of the zoonotic virus—are present.
Health Minister Veena George, after reviewing the situation in Malappuram, stated that the boy’s friends reported he had eaten the fruit, locally known as ambazhanga, from near his home days before he developed a fever. “We have confirmed the presence of fruit bats in that region. Prima facie analysis indicates that this could be the source of infection. Further examination is required to confirm this. A team of experts from the National Virology Institute in Pune will arrive in Malappuram on Monday to study the fruit bats in the area,” she said.
The minister noted that past incidents of the infection had shown that the virus strain in affected individuals in Kerala matched the strain found in fruit bats. Efforts, supported by the ICMR, are underway to check for the virus in fruits.
Historical data shows that previous Nipah outbreaks in Kerala, such as those in 2018 and 2023 in Kozhikode, were linked to areas with fruit bat presence. In 2019, a case in Kochi involved a fruit bitten by a bat. Similarly, in 2021, a boy who died in Chathamangalam had consumed rambutan fruit from the local area. The 2023 outbreak in Kozhikode, which resulted in two deaths, was traced to a banana farm frequented by fruit bats.
In 2021, NIV-Pune detected Nipah virus antibodies in fruit bat samples from Kozhikode, supporting the notion that these bats are the virus’s source. Infected fruit bats can also transmit the virus to other animals like pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses, and sheep. Typically, fruit bats, the virus’s animal host reservoir, breed during May and June.