Nipah: Hospitals gear up to follow govt advisory

PATNA: With the state health department issuing an advisory to government medical colleges to initiate precautionary measures in the wake of outbreak of Nipah virus (NiV) in Kerala that has claimed several lives, the health personnel are on their toes.

An isolation room is already there at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) where such patients can be treated. “Doctors and health staff are also vulnerable to the virus. They have been informed how to take precautions for infection control while handling Nipah cases. We have disposable full body suits that are airtight and cover the health workers from head to toe for their protection. We will follow all necessary protocols in case of outbreak of the virus here,” IGIMS medical superintendent Dr Manish Mandal said.

Dr Mandal added no anti-virus has so far been developed to treat Nipah patients. “Symptomatic treatment will be given to anyone visiting the hospital with Nipah symptoms,” Dr Mandal said.

Authorities of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) will hold a meeting in a few days to discuss strategy to deal with Nipah cases. “Any patient showing symptoms of NiV will be kept in isolation. Health personnel will be provided masks and gloves,” PMCH deputy superintendent Dr R K Jamiar said.

Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) has also planned to set up isolation wards for patients with Nipah symptoms. NMCH superintendent Dr A P Singh said hospital staff would be provided protective equipment, such as individual gowns (impermeable), gloves, masks, goggles and shoe cover to avoid the risk of contracting the virus.

As per the advisory issued by the health department on Friday, people have been advised to pay special attention in areas that have a high population of bats. Any contact with bats or pigs or with objects such as fruits that have come in contact with such animals should be avoided. The advisory also asks people not to eat fruits fallen from trees and properly wash fruits before eating mangoes, bananas and dates.

People are also advised not to eat vegetables that have animal bites or juice made out of dates and palms. Visits to crowded areas should also be avoided.

The symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, drowsiness, respiratory illness, disorientation, and mental confusion. An infected person may go into coma in 24-48 hours. Adequate precautionary measures include total isolation of infected persons and personal protection of those in close contact with the infected persons.

“There is no lab in the state to conduct tests to find out if the bats are carriers of the virus. No research in this area has been conducted by the department. Two varieties of bats found in the state, but they are not completely wild and are slightly different from the bats found in Kerala,” an environment and forest department official said, adding Hajipur in Vaishali district has the largest bat population.