Nipah virus: Karnataka to monitor people from Kerala, issues guidelines for residents

Karnataka Health Commissioner Dr KV Trilok Chandra said on Sunday that the state has published detailed guidelines on how to protect oneself from the Nipah virus. He added that those arriving from Kerala will be monitored.

"We have already issued a detailed advisory on precautions to be taken against the Nipah virus. Advanced surveillance measures are already in place at all border districts. People coming from Kerala will be under surveillance," he told ANI.

On 7 September, the Karnataka government issued an advisory to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus. They instructed district administrations to monitor arrivals from Kerala for symptoms, including fever, altered mental status, severe weakness, headache, respiratory distress, cough, vomiting, muscle pain, convulsions, and diarrhoea. Although the Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, it can also be spread from person to person or through contaminated food.

Nipah virus: Kerala tests over 100 samples 

Kerala Health Minister Veena George had announced on Saturday that 20 samples tested for Nipah virus infection in the state came back negative. George told the media that 18 samples were analysed in specially set up labs at the Kozhikode Medical College. They were in high-risk contact with two of them. There were a total of 108 samples analysed, and they were all negative. She noted that more testing will be carried out, including on high-risk contacts.

People on the contact list, George had said, have been isolated and are being monitored on a regular basis. During the house-to-house assessment in the containment zone, a few people were detected as having fever, and 19 people were found to be COVID-19 positive, she noted. 

The Kerala health minister had said on Wednesday that a total of 68 individuals are being held in isolation for the Nipah virus at Government Medical College in Kerala's Kozhikode district. A team of health authorities from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune gathered samples from fruit-eating bats in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Saturday in order to determine the origins of the Nipah infections in the state.

Tamil Nadu sets up a hospital ward to treat Nipah patients

The Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, in Tamil Nadu has set up a dedicated ward to treat Nipah virus patients, according to Dr Natarajan, the hospital's Head of Department (HOD) Medicine. He stated that the state currently has no cases of the Nipah virus but is prepared to handle any complications.

The Nipah virus is primarily spread through fruit bats, cats, dogs, and domestic pigs. Human-to-human transmission is also possible, but fortunately, no cases have been reported, Dr Natarajan said.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: ANI/Pixabay)