With Pteropus bats being suspected as the reservoirs of the deadly Nipah virus, surveillance has been stepped up in the roosting sites of these mammals.
The Forest Department has begun an exercise to identify the roosting sites of the bats in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Idukki districts after the disease was confirmed in a person hailing from Vadakkekara in Ernakulam.
A team of the Forest Department, which is located in Wayanad and specialised in capturing birds, has been put on alert.
The team, which uses ‘mist nets’ for capturing birds, will be pressed into action, if required, for capturing the bats for collecting samples for analysis.
A decision on capturing the mammals will be taken only after the clearance from the State-level high-power committee formed for the disease management, forest sources said.
Incidentally, a presentation authored by D.T. Mourya of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, noted that investigations carried out in India during the last 10 years indicated that Nipah virus was detected only in Pteropus bats.
During the 2018 outbreak, the NIV team had captured 52 Pteropus bats from Perambra Town, in Kozhikode.
Habitats
The Pteropus bats are found in human habitations including towns. They could be found roosting in large trees.
These mammals feed on nectar and fruits. Several hypothesis are in currency regarding the spread of the disease though the exact cause and the route are yet to be known, said P.O. Nameer, Professor, Department of Wildlife Science, Kerala Agriculture University.
He cautioned against killing of the mammals and destruction of its habitats in the wake of the resurfacing of the disease, which could lead to new and unprecedented crisis.
Information cell
The Department of Animal Husbandry has opened a 24x7 information cell at Kochi (04842351264) to attend to the calls from general public.
A rapid response team has been constituted and the network of veterinarians activated following the developments.
A four-member team from of the chief disease investigation office of the department will reach Kochi on Wednesday.
Another team from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) will also reach Kochi the next day, said K.M. Dileep, District Animal Husbandry Officer, Ernakulam.
Any signs of unnatural or massive animal or bird deaths shall be reported to the cell. The department, in cooperation with the Kerala Veterinary and animal Sciences University, KVASU and the Forest Department, had stepped up the surveillance, he said.
Panchayats would be asked to support residents to put up nets to prevent the entry of bats into abandoned buildings. The vehicles that transport pigs and cattle should be sanitised, he suggested.