An isolation ward has been opened at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, in view of reports that a youth from Ernakulam district is suspected to be infected by Nipah virus.
Medical college officials have been on high alert since Monday morning.
Meeting held
A special meeting was convened by V.R. Rajendran, Principal, to take stock of the situation. Dr. Rajendran told The Hindu that patients with fever symptoms would be kept under surveillance and would be admitted to the isolation ward if they were found to develop unusual symptoms.
If any of the fever cases turned positive for Nipah infection, they would be treated separately.
Surveillance measures would continue in the coming days, he added.
Meanwhile, a team comprising doctors and nurses who worked at the medical college hospital during the Nipah outbreak here last year were camping in Kochi.
R. Chandni, Head of the Department of Emergency Medicine; Sheela Mathew, Department of General Medicine; C.H. Mini, Head of the Department of Obsterics and Gynaecology; and Sobhana and Sheena, staff nurses who worked in the infectious diseases control unit; are part of the team.
Treatment protocols
They will suggest the treatment protocols to be followed for Nipah-infected patients and the steps to be taken by the hospital staff. One more team would likely be deputed if there was a need, sources said.