Thiruvananthapuram: Nipah infection has been confirmed in a 24-year-old person who died in Malappuram district of Kerala last week.
The victim, hailing from Thiruvali near Wandoor, was a student in Bengaluru and had come down to Kerala on August 23. Around September 4, he started showing symptoms of fever and took treatment at four hospitals. He died on September 9.
The source of infection is yet to be traced.
Health Minister Veena George said a test conducted at National Institute of Virology in Pune confirmed the Nipah infection. A total of 151 people have been found to be in the primary contact list of the victim. Five of them were found to be having mild symptoms and hence, their samples were also being tested for the infection. The minister said that all those in the contact list would be kept under surveillance. The health department aimed at detecting any infection at the early stage itself so that it could be cured.
The Thiruvali panchayat authorities have asked all people to wear masks and those with any symptoms to report to the health authorities. A door-to-door screening would be held in the coming days.
Nipah infection is being reported occasionally in Kerala. In July a 14-year-old boy hailing from Malappuram died due to the deadly infection. Twenty people had died in a Nipah breakout in Kozhikode in 2018. In 2019 one person was infected, but he recovered. In 2021 one Nipah death was reported. In 2023 two of the six infected lost their lives.
Health authorities claim the high alertness of the state health system is helping in diagnosing the infection.
Nipah virus is a highly pathogenic paramyxovirus It is one of the ten priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization.