Nipah outbreak: Tamil Nadu to screen people coming from Kerala

Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday began screening people coming from Kerala into the state by road following the outbreak of Nipah virus in the neighbouring state.

Officials from the health department will screen people in all border districts such as Coimbatore, Theni, Nilgiris, Tenkasi, Tiruppur, and Kanyakumari as a precautionary measure.

The health teams will be deployed at border check posts round the clock to screen all symptomatic cases with necessary protective equipment, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said. “There is no need to panic. We won’t face any threat. We will take necessary steps to ensure (that there is no outbreak here). Our health teams are monitoring the check posts. 

Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam gave instructions to Deputy Director of Health Services, especially from the border districts, to strengthen the surveillance on Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and follow up AES cases admitted from the bordering districts of Kerala, especially from Kozhikode and Malappuram.

He also said that government and major private hospitals should be alerted and they should ensure timely notification of the AES cases to the District Surveillance Officers through the IDSP-IHIP portal.

In a detailed circular issued to all DDs, Selvavinayagam explained the epidemiology of the virus, its incubation period, mode of transmission, diagnosis, clinical features and treatment. He said the cases are classified into three categories – suspect Nipah case, probable Nipah case, and confirmed Nipah case and defined all the three categories. 

He also said preventive measures like washing hands with soap and water after coming in contact with a sick person or animal, avoid consuming raw date palm sap or toddy, consuming fruits only after washing them, avoid consuming half eaten fruits from the ground, and avoid entering into abandoned wells should be taken in high-risk areas.