Thiruvananthapuram / Kozhikode: The state government issued a fresh alert over the
Nipah virus on Friday and directed the health administration in all districts to screen people who had close contact with even suspected Nipah patients.
Health minister
K K Shailaja said that people who had come in contact with Nipah patients should be more cautious till the end of the incubation period, and hence daily screening of these people has become essential to prevent the spread of the
brain-damaging virus.
Till now, 18 people were tested positive of Nipah virus of whom 16 died. The condition of the other two patients is stable. According to the health department, the ‘contact list’ has been expanded. As of now, there are 1,949 persons in the list who are regularly being monitored by health workers.In another precautionary measure, all nine staff members at Balussery taluk hospital in Kozhikode district have been sanctioned leave. Rasin and Ismail, who died of Nipah infection, had undergone treatment at this hospital.
The experimental drug imported from Australia is learnt to have arrived in Delhi. “Indian Council for Medical Research (IMCR) has suggested that the service of an expert be availed for mixing and administering of human monoclonal antibody. A decision in this regard will be taken after discussions,’’ Dr R L Saritha, director of health services, said. In Kozhikode, six more persons were admitted to hospital with symptoms of Nipah on Friday, taking the total to 17, Dr Sarita said.
In Palakkad district, district medical officer Dr K P Reetha said on Friday that “four patients are under observation in the isolation ward of Palakkad district hospital for suspected Nipah virus” with two of them having gone there from Nipah virus-affected Kozhikode and Perambra areas.
The Thamarassery diocese, meanwhile, has decided to alter the serving of Holy Communion, asking priests to place the wafer in the hands of devotees rather than on their tongues. Thamarassery Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil in a circular also urged believers to follow the directions of authorities to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
The diocese decided to postpone catechism classes to June 10.
The Nipah scare has shifted from Perambra to Kozhikode city following three more deaths in two days