The Central government will deploy a multi-member joint outbreak response team to support Kerala. The Central team will help the state to investigate a Nipah virus case detected in its Mallapuram district, identifying epidemiological linkages and providing technical assistance.
The Union Health Ministry on Sunday said a 14-year-old boy from the district exhibited the acute encephalitis syndrome. The boy was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre in Kozhikode. Later, he succumbed to the disease.
The samples of the deceased were sent to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, which confirmed Nipah virus infection, a statement released by the ministry said.
Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus, and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming bat-contaminated fruits.
The ministry has advised the state to immediately implement public health measures such as active case search in the boy’s family and his neighbourhood, and in areas with similar topography of the place the case was detected.
Kerala has also been advised to start tracing people who have come in contact with the patient in the last 12 days and implement strict quarantine for them, and isolation for suspects.
The multi-member joint outbreak response team from the ‘One Health’ mission of the health ministry will be deployed to support the state in investigating the case, identifying epidemiological linkages, and providing technical assistance, the statement said.
In addition, at the state’s request, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management but it could not be used because of the boy’s “poor general condition”, according to the ministry.
It said a mobile BSL-3 laboratory for testing samples from patient contacts has reached Kozhikode.
Also read: Kerala: 14-year-old boy infected with Nipah virus dies of cardiac arrest