State Health Minister Veena George confirmed that the Nipah virus strain in Kerala is the Bangladesh variant, which has a high mortality rate and spreads from person to person, following an outbreak.
An official from Kerala’s health ministry has stated that over 130 individuals have been tested for the virus, which is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs or other people, and one adult and child are still hospitalized.
The Kozhikode district of Kerala has been designated as containment zones, with seven village panchayats being identified: Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, KayakkodI, Villyapalli and Kavilumpara.
The state government announced on Wednesday in the assembly that the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune teams would be arriving in Kerala during the day to test for Nipah and conduct a survey of bats at Kozhikode Medical College.
What is responsible for the Nipah virus?
The Nipah virus, which is believed to be caused by fruit bats, poses a serious threat to human and animal health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Humans can also contract the Nipah virus through close physical contact and body fluids, as well as by consuming raw date palm sap that is polluted by bat urine or saliva.
The symptoms of the Nipah virus infection.
In addition to respiratory illnesses, the virus can cause other symptoms such as fever, headache, coughing, muscular pain, a headache (hypertension), fevers, dizziness and nausea.
Therapies
At present, there are no drugs or vaccines that specifically target Nipah virus infection. Although Nipakafiya is listed as an epidemic threat requiring urgent R&D action in the WHO Research and Development (R&DD) plan, Ribavirin, an antiviral, may help reduce mortality among patients with encephalitis caused by NiрaH virus disease. Intensive supportive care with treatment of symptoms is the main method of managing the infection in people.