Central team in Kerala to visit Nipah-affected areas

Malappuram (Kerala) | A central team arrived in Kerala on Wednesday to visit Nipah-affected areas in two northern districts and coordinate preventive efforts.

The National Joint Outbreak Response Team, appointed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, visited Malappuram district to study the Nipah situation, report it to the Centre, and assist the state in preventive measures, official sources here said.

Besides Malappuram, another case of Nipah infection was reported from neighbouring Palakkad district.

Dr Pranay Verma, the Joint Director and Public Health Specialist at the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), is leading the 10-member expert team, an official statement said here.

The team also includes scientists from the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, wildlife specialists, veterinary consultants, and experts from the animal welfare department.

They met District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr R Renuka and held discussions.

Another National Institute of Virology (NIV) team of eight members led by Dr E Dilip Patil will soon arrive in the district to monitor and

survey bats.

This team is currently based in Palakkad, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Palakkad native, infected with Nipah virus, continues to remain at the government medical college in Kozhikode, sources said.

Another patient, a Malappuram native, succumbed to the virus infection last week.

State Health Minister Veena George said as many as 498 people are in the Nipah contact list in Kerala at present.

Of this, 203 people are in Malappuram, 116 in Kozhikode, 177 in Palakkad, and two in Ernakulam, she said in a statement here.

The test result of a 78-year-old woman, who was on the contact list of a person who died of the virus infection in Malappuram recently, has turned out to be negative, she said.

During a high-level meeting conducted on Wednesday, the Minister ordered that preventive measures according to the Nipah calendar be vigorously continued until September.