A year after two north Kerala districts were hit by Nipah claiming 17 lives, the disease resurfaced in the State with a 23-year-old student here confirmed to be infected with the potentially deadly virus.
The Government said 311 people from various districts with whom the student had interacted were under observation. The student, who is being treated at a private hospital here, is slowly improving and his fever subsiding, according to a medical bulletin.
The results of blood samples of the student, which were tested at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, have confirmed Nipah, State Health minister KK Shailaja said here.
The result came this morning, she added. Earlier, blood samples examined at two virology institutes — Manipal Institute of Virology and Kerala Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases — had indicated Nipah.
The Government said four people — three who attended to the student initially and one person who studied with him — werea suffering from fever and sore throat.
They were shifted to the isolation ward set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital here for detailed medical examination. Their health condition is satisfactory, according to authorities.
Shailaja said the condition of the student is stable and he was not put under any support system like ventilator. “Good care is being given to the patient. The patient sometimes become restless due to fever...We expect a good result,” she told reporters.
A medical bulletin issued by the hospital late in the night said he was admitted on May 30. “At present, the patient is clinically stable, slowly improving and his fever is subsiding,” it said.
The DMO has supplied the necessary anti-viral medications as soon as the case was notified and the hospital was able to start medications promptly, it said.
The hospital is strictly abiding by all public health protocols as suggested by the district and State health authorities and closely coordinating with them in the best interest of patient and community, it added.
A Government bulletin said a list of 311 people, who have interacted with the student, has been prepared and they were under medical observation. The student, hailing from North Paravur in Ernakulam, is studying in a college in Thodupuzha in Idukki district.
The student, who was suffering from fever, had gone to Thrissur district with a group of students to attend a training programme.