Kozhikode (Kerala), Jun 13 (PTI) Three persons under quarantine have been admitted to hospital for observation and their samples have been sent for testing as part of Nipah surveillance measures in Kozhikode district, state Health Minister K Muraleedharan said on Friday.
The minister also said that experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are scheduled to visit the district on Saturday to assess the situation and review containment measures.
No new Nipah cases have been reported in the district so far, he said.
“The patient currently undergoing treatment for Nipah has been administered the first dose of monoclonal antibody therapy in accordance with ICMR guidelines and on the recommendation of the medical board,” the minister said.
Ten more persons have been added to the contact list, taking the total number of contacts under surveillance to 87. Of them, four are in the highest-risk category, 16 in the high-risk category and 67 in the low-risk category, he said.
All those on the contact list are being monitored through twice-daily calls from the control room, the minister added.
“As part of preventive measures, health workers conducted a survey in 286 houses in Ward 5 of Ramanattukara municipality, where the Nipah case was reported. Twelve persons with fever were identified, but none showed symptoms associated with Nipah infection,” he said.
A meeting of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) was also held in Ramanattukara municipality to review the ongoing containment activities, he said.
A 43-year-old man was recently confirmed to have contracted Nipah virus infection and is undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that can spread from animals to humans and, in some cases, between humans. Fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, are the natural reservoir of the virus. The infection can cause severe respiratory illness and encephalitis, and has a high fatality rate. PTI TBA TBA KH
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