The Union health ministry is considering deploying the National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to Kerala to assist the government in implementing public health measures, following the detection of two Nipah virus cases, sources said on Saturday.
The Central Surveillance Unit of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, NCDC, is in close contact with the state unit and is actively monitoring the situation, they added.
The State Control Room has been activated for coordinating the various containment activities.
The public health response is guided by the Kerala State NiVD guidelines for surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control.
"Although prima facie, the two cases are epidemiologically unlinked, the timelines of symptom onset and the possibility of a common social event connecting the two are being investigated," a source said.
So far, over 300 contacts have been identified across three districts: Pallakad, Mallapuram and Kozhikode.
A fresh case of Nipah virus was confirmed on Friday, in which a 38-year-old woman from Thachanattukara in Palakkad tested positive, an official release said.
The infected patient is being treated at a private hospital in Malappuram district, official sources stated. -- PTI
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