The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has urged the Health Department to strictly adhere to guidelines on hospital infection prevention and biosafety manual even as its stressed that the occurrence of Nipah was confined to Kozhikode district.
The Ministry has on its website published the treatment guidelines for Nipah virus infection.
It has also brought out advisory for the general public and health care personnel and guidelines for sample collection.
Monitoring on
The available data suggest that the public need not be apprehensive about the safety of individuals and their family members, and that the Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and supporting health authorities in arresting further outbreak.
A multidisciplinary team led by the Director of the National Centre for Disease Control and experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Virology is taking stock of the situation in Kozhikode district.
Since a majority of cases have been found to be have been due to contact with infected people, the Central team has suggested a triage of Nipah cases and the establishment of dedicated isolation facilities and strict infection control practices.
14 under observation
Of the 19 cases, 17 died due to the virus infection. As many as 14 persons are under observation at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital. The Nipah guidelines give special focus to close contacts, including caregivers, as two victims, K. Ismail of Koottalida and Rasin Bhaskaran of Kottor grama panchayat, were undergoing treatment at the Balussery taluk hospital, while many others contacted the infection from the medical college hospital.
A close contact has been defined as a person who was admitted to a hospital ward or shared room with a suspect or confirmed case of Nipah, had direct physical contact with suspect or confirmed cases during the illness including during transportation, had direct close contact with the (deceased) suspected or confirmed case of Nipah at a funeral or during burial preparation ritual, had touched the blood or body fluids (saliva, urine, and vomit) of a suspect or confirmed case of Nipah, had touched the clothes or linens of a suspect or confirmed case.
The advisory said the contacts had to be followed up for appearance of symptoms of Nipah for the longest incubation period (21 days).
The State government has announced plans to continue Nipah surveillance measures at least until June 30.