14-year-old Nipah virus patient dies in Kerala, Centre issues advisory

The Union government on Sunday informed that a case of Nipah virus has been detected in Mallapuram district of Kerala and the patient succumbed to the disease.

A 14-year-old boy from Mallapuram exhibited Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) symptoms and was admitted to a local healthcare facility before being transferred to a bigger health facility in Kozhikode.

However, the patient later succumbed to the disease.

"The samples were sent to NIV, Pune which has confirmed a Nipah virus infection," the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.

The Centre has advised the state governments for active case searches in the family of the confirmed case, the neighbourhood, and areas with similar topography.

The Central government also advised them for active contact tracing (for any contacts) during the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts of the case and isolation of any suspects and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing.

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.

Additionally, at the State's request, the Indian Council of Medical Research had sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management, and a mobile BSL-3 laboratory for testing additional samples from contacts has arrived in Kozhikode, informed the ministry.

The outbreaks of Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) have been reported in Kerala in the past, with the most recent one occurring in 2023 in the Kozhikode district.

Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus.

(With inputs from IANS)