2 dead in Kerala due to Nipah virus, confirms Union Health Minister

The Kerala Health Department issued an alert after two deaths were reported due to fever in Kozhikode. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has now confirmed that the deaths were caused by the Nipah virus.

These two deaths occurred at a private hospital in Kozhikode. A total of four patients, including three children, are undergoing treatment in a hospital. A 22-year-old relative of one of the dead persons is currently in the intensive care unit of a hospital. Also, two children, aged 4 and 9 years, and a 10-month-old infant are under treatment in a private hospital.

A high-level meeting was chaired by Kerala health minister Veena George to review the situation.

Speaking to India Today, Veena George said that the reports of the samples sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing for the deadly virus are still awaited.

Kozhikode has experienced two previous Nipah virus outbreaks, one in 2018 and another in 2021. During the first outbreak in 2018, a total of 23 cases were identified, with 17 people succumbing to this zoonotic virus.

Nipah virus infection can manifest in various ways, ranging from asymptomatic (subclinical) cases to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis among those infected.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted to people from animals and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person-to-person.

The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers, WHO said.