Nipah virus kills 2 more, threat level ‘localised’: Central team
But Several States Sound Virus Alert
Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: 23.05.2018
Initial investigation by a medical team sent by the Centre to probe the sudden outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala suggests it is a “localised occurrence” and unlikely to spread as of now, the health ministry said on Tuesday urging people not to believe in rumours on social media. “There is no reason for people to panic. This appears to be a localised occurrence,” the ministry said.
Two more people succumbed to the virus in Kerala on Tuesday, taking the confirmed toll to 10, according to the Kerala government.
Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have also sounded a Nipah alert, though they have categorically stated that effective measures have contained the threat in Kerala.
A multi-disciplinary central team from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) visited the house in Kerala’s Perambra from where the initial death was reported, and found many bats in a well from where the family took water.
“Some bats have been caught and sent for lab tests to confirm whether they are the cause of the disease. Sixty samples have been collected from the spot,” the ministry said. Health ministry officials said the situation is under control and the NCDC team is constantly monitoring it.
The Nipah virus, or NiV infection, is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The infection is spread mainly by fruit bats.
Symptoms of the disease include breathing trouble, brain swelling, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can fall into coma within 48 hours. It travels through direct contact with a patient. There is no vaccine for the virus yet, says the World Health Organisation, and the main treatment for those infected is intensive supportive care.
While the outbreak in Kerala has so far claimed 10 lives, a total of nine persons are currently undergoing treatment and isolation wards have been opened in several hospitals in Kozhikode.
The Union health ministry has also mobilised a public health team from the NCDC's Kozhikode branch to assess the extent of the problem for risk assessment and management.
SAFETY FIRST: A relative of one of the deceased who died of Nipah virus conducting the final rites wearing protective clothing to avoid getting infected from the dead at Mavoor on Tuesday
But Several States Sound Virus Alert
Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: 23.05.2018
Initial investigation by a medical team sent by the Centre to probe the sudden outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala suggests it is a “localised occurrence” and unlikely to spread as of now, the health ministry said on Tuesday urging people not to believe in rumours on social media. “There is no reason for people to panic. This appears to be a localised occurrence,” the ministry said.
Two more people succumbed to the virus in Kerala on Tuesday, taking the confirmed toll to 10, according to the Kerala government.
Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have also sounded a Nipah alert, though they have categorically stated that effective measures have contained the threat in Kerala.
A multi-disciplinary central team from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) visited the house in Kerala’s Perambra from where the initial death was reported, and found many bats in a well from where the family took water.
“Some bats have been caught and sent for lab tests to confirm whether they are the cause of the disease. Sixty samples have been collected from the spot,” the ministry said. Health ministry officials said the situation is under control and the NCDC team is constantly monitoring it.
The Nipah virus, or NiV infection, is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The infection is spread mainly by fruit bats.
Symptoms of the disease include breathing trouble, brain swelling, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can fall into coma within 48 hours. It travels through direct contact with a patient. There is no vaccine for the virus yet, says the World Health Organisation, and the main treatment for those infected is intensive supportive care.
While the outbreak in Kerala has so far claimed 10 lives, a total of nine persons are currently undergoing treatment and isolation wards have been opened in several hospitals in Kozhikode.
The Union health ministry has also mobilised a public health team from the NCDC's Kozhikode branch to assess the extent of the problem for risk assessment and management.
SAFETY FIRST: A relative of one of the deceased who died of Nipah virus conducting the final rites wearing protective clothing to avoid getting infected from the dead at Mavoor on Tuesday
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