As the evening twilight descended on the Kozhikode Government Medical College campus on a humid Friday, Sreya Mariyam Salim was googling on her smartphone for a rare zoonotic epidemic.
“The message was about the breakout of an unknown disease at Perambra in the district. Later, our seniors told us it was Nipah. They also advised us to get equipped with protective masks,” the 24-year-old house surgeon said, recalling the events after the death of Mohammed Salih due to the fatal disease on May 18.
The night at the psychiatry wing where she was assigned for her house surgency was rather quite unlike the other wards which were thronging with patients, bystanders, and hospital staff.
Like Sreya, her 165 batch mates attending duties at multiple departments of the medical college were panic-stricken as messages and advice poured in from professors on Nipah.
“Parents, relatives, and friends would call us enquiring about our safety. Things took a horrible turn with vacant wards at the otherwise hospital teeming with patients,” she said.
The deaths of Mariyam, the parental aunt of Salih, and his father, Moosa, on account of Nipah virus infection brought in a conflicting situation. More worried was Sylvia George, deputed at the medicine wing, who had taken the blood samples of three victims who later died.
“We have read about Nipah in a chapter on controlling epidemics or a paragraph in a microbiology text. My parents were tense as news flashed on the deaths and positive cases with each passing day. My mom used to call every now and then and weep that she could not sleep at night,” the girl from Kannur said.
“A week later, I developed a mild fever that left my friends shocked. I was on the contact list and under observation. The fear faded away as I tested negative for the disease,” Ms. Syliva recalled.
Certainly, the outbreak of Nipah infection has changed the work culture of house surgeons at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.
“Yes, the house surgeons had a different but crucial role in assisting senior doctors and health care personnel when the outbreak occurred. We had to be triply cautious since the mortality rate of Nipah was high,” said Sreeraj Chandran, who was assigned to the surgery wing. The 24-hour duty of house surgeons has also been split into six-hour shifts at many critical care units since the hospital staff have to wear the personal protective equipment, including gloves, goggles, and face-masks, for infection control. “True, we were tense at first, but it was a different experience for us. How the hospital managed the outbreak has instilled confidence in all of us,” Suha Hani at the triage unit said.
For sure, it was difficult dealing with the aftermath of a meltdown. “But any task can be calmly resolved on the human time frame,” Ms. Sreya said.