Nipah outbreak: A 39-year-old man has become Kerala’s sixth confirmed Nipah virus case since its outbreak, as the government stepped up its efforts to cure all the infected patients.
The man is under observation in a hospital in Kozhikode.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar reviewed steps taken for containment of Nipah virus outbreak in Kozhikode, Kerala, from the Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), in Pune on Thursday.
She visited the ICMR-NIV Institute in Pune to take stock of preparations. After undertaking the review, Dr Pawar stated, “The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and under the guidance of Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya is monitoring the situation and necessary steps for prevention of spread are being taken. Under the guidance of Union Minister Mandaviya, high level teams from the Centre and ICMR-NIV with mobile units equipped with BSL-3 laboratories have already reached Kozhikode and will be doing on-ground testing. Affected gram panchayats in the Kozhikode area have been declared as quarantine zones.”
In the wake of the Nipah virus outbreak in Kozhikode district, the District Collector has declared holidays for all educational institutions including Anganwadis, Madrasas, tuition centres including professional colleges on September 16, in addition to the two-day holiday already declared for September 14 and September 15.
Earlier, amid rising concerns over the return of the Nipah virus in Kerala, the state government strengthened measures to prevent the spread of the infection a day after two deaths from the same were confirmed in Kozhikode district.
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