Kerala: Nipah cases on rise, over 700 on contact list

Kerala Health Minister Veena George announced another case of the Nipah virus on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections in the state to five. According to the minister, a 24-year-old health worker at a private hospital in Kozhikode has been diagnosed with the virus.

Currently, 706 people are on the contact list, with 77 classified as high-risk and 153 classified as health workers. Nobody in the high-risk category is currently exhibiting symptoms. As many as 13 patients are currently being monitored in the hospital for minor symptoms such as headaches.

The administration has recommended high-risk contacts to remain in their homes. Meanwhile, Kerala’s government has established 19 main committees to oversee all actions. The local self-government has created volunteer teams to assist in the delivery of supplies to individuals who are isolated.

So far, the brain-damaging virus has killed two people in Kerala. Ms Veena George stated earlier on Wednesday that the state is striving for “proactive detection” of infection before cases are confirmed in labs. The health administration is monitoring clinical symptoms in order to issue warnings ahead of time.

Ms George stated that the state administration is focusing on tracing contacts of sick people early and isolating individuals with symptoms. In response to a question in the Assembly today, the health minister stated that seven village panchayats in Kozhikode district had been declared containment zones: Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara. The establishment of containment zones is part of the state government’s plan to control illness spread.

Education Minister V Sivankutty has also asked the Public Education Director to organize online classes for pupils from all schools in the containment zone, allowing them to attend classes from the comfort of their own homes.