Nipah Death Puts Kerala On Alert

The scare of communicable diseases seems to be gripping the country with Maharashtra reporting 28 Zika cases this year, the highest since 2021.

A 14-year-old boy from Chembrassery in Malappuram district of Kerala died of Nipah infection at a government medical hospital on Sunday. The boy was admitted to the hospital on July 20.

According to the state government, he had a cardiac arrest and died by around 11.30 am.

State health minister Veena George said three of his relatives were under surveillance at the Manjeri Medical College hospital, with one under intensive care support.

'A 14-year-old boy from Mallapuram exhibited AES symptoms and was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health center in Kozhikode. The patient later succumbed to the disease,' the ministry of health and family welfare said in a statement.

'The samples were sent to NIV, Pune which has confirmed a Nipah virus infection.'

A multi-member joint outbreak response team from the National 'One Health Mission' of the Union health ministry will be deployed to support Kerala in investigating the case, identifying epidemiological linkages, and providing technical assistance.

A 68-year-old man from Malappuram with Nipah symptoms, reportedly not related to the index patient, has been admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College in serious condition.

This is the fifth Nipah outbreak in Kerala. The first was in 2018 which claimed 17 lives.

The second was in 2019 in Ernakulam when one person got infected, In 2020, one person died in Kozhikode, which again saw an outbreak in 2023, killing two and infecting four others.

Nipah virus infection, a zoonotic illness, is spread to humans through contact with infected animals such as bats and pigs.

Additionally, direct contact with an infected individual can also lead to transmission, although this route is less common.

Meanwhile, the scare of communicable diseases seems to be gripping across the country with Maharashtra reporting 28 Zika cases this year, the highest since 2021.

Of this, Pune alone accounts for 24 cases. Zika virus is primarily transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus in tropical and subtropical regions.

Maharashtra has so far reported 34 Zika cases, with Pune district being the worst hit with 28 cases as of July 19. The state government is actively trying to contain the outbreak.

To step up surveillance, it is setting up centres every 3 to 5 kilometres in affected districts that would survey the area and collect blood samples for quick identification of fever cases, the health department said.

Blood samples of pregnant mothers are being collected and tested as Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause birth defects and other congenital abnormalities in the developing foetus and newborn.

Zika virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, was first isolated in 1947 from the blood of a rhesus monkey in the Zika forest of Uganda. There have been outbreaks ever since, mostly in Africa and South America.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com