HUBBALLI: As part of measures to halt the spread of the deadly
Nipah virus (NiV), authorities in the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad have hit on two unusual measures: Track students from Kerala as well as their relatives and friends who visit them, and two: round up stray pigs.
Dr R M Doddamani, district health and family welfare officer, told TOI that apart from the protocol of preventive measures issued by the health department, the district will implement its own unique measures. “We have instructed managements of colleges and hostels to keep a watch on students from Kerala,” Doddamani said. “We have also asked managements to observe relatives who visit these students. It does not mean that all or some of these students carry NiV; this is only a precautionary measure to keep all students safe.”
He went on to add: “Since fruit bats are natural hosts of the virus, people have been advised not to eat fruits in localities inhabited by fruit bats.”
Meanwhile, mayor Sudheer Saraf,
Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, said since pigs are also carriers of the virus, stray pigs will be rounded up. “We do not know the exact number of stray pigs in the cities, but it is said that there are thousands,” Saraf said. “Men from Tumakuru and
Tamil Nadu will catch them and take them away.”
