Govt zeroes in on bats to contain Nipah

As Kerala remains under Nipah virus alert, the Central team which was rushed to the State, has sent a batch of bats, housed in the well from where the family was drawing water in the Perambra district, for investigation at its lab in Pune to confirm whether they are the cause of the disease or not.  

Nipah, which is a newly emerging virus-as it gets transferred from animals to humans-has fruit bats of the "Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus" as its natural host.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Tuesday asked people not to "panic" and said the outbreak is "unlikely" to spread as early containment measures were being taken. Nadda also noted that the outbreak appeared to be a "localised" occurrence.

The virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in northern part of Kerala while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical, said State Health Minister K K Shylaja on Tuesday. She said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been informed about the outbreak of the virus in Kerala.

Talking to reporters she said that two persons — Rajan and Ashokan, who were undergoing treatment at Kozhikode, died this morning, have been confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Of the 18 samples sent for testing, 12 have tested positive for the virus, of which 10 people have died.

An expert team from the National Centre for Disease -Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr S K Jain, is already in Kerala.

The NCDC team had visited the house in Perambra from where the initial death was reported.  It found many bats housed in the well from where the family was drawing water.  Some bats have been caught and have been sent for lab examination to confirm whether they are the cause of the disease or not, said an official from the Union Health Ministry. Sixty different samples have been collected from the spot and sent for examination to a lab in Pune.

The field team has advised hospitals to follow intracranial pressure (ICP) guidelines, use personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and sample collection; assist in enhancing active fever surveillance in the community; strengthen contact tracing in close contacts of cases, relatives, health care workers; ensure isolation facilities, ventilator support and hospital infection control practices; and coordinate with animal sector and enhance surveillance for unusual illness and deaths in animals.

The Ministry has ensured availability of diagnostic kits, personal protective equipment and risk communication materials. High quality personal protection equipment has been provided to health care personnel. Hospitals in public and private sector have been provided with personal protective equipment. Appropriate steps to contain this virus have been taken among domestic animals such as pigs.  

Meanwhile, hospitals in Goa have been asked by the state health department to be on alert to tackle possible outbreak of the deadly virus in the state.

According to Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, random checks are also being done on people coming to the State from Kerala. He said that this is being done in accordance with the directives of the central government.

Authorities fear that the deadly virus can spread to Goa and Mumbai in the next few days.