Health department on high alert in Kerala after fresh outbreak of Nipah

Kozhikode | Sunday | 5th September, 2021

Summary:

Kozhikode, Sep 5 (PTI) Nipah virus has returned to haunt Kerala with a 12-year old boy on Sunday succumbing to the infection, the first such incident three years after it wrecked havoc in parts of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of the state.

As Kerala reeled under a daily increase of nearly 30,000 cases of COVID-19, the deadly Nipah virus has come as another thorn in its side, prompting the state to further heighten the alertness of its health machinery to prevent an outbreak of a different infection.

Acting swiftly, the state and central governments rushed their teams to Kozhikode to assess the situation in the areas of Chathamangalam Panchayat.

State Health Minister Veena George, who is camping in Kozhikode district said situation was under control and there was no need for any panic.

Meanwhile, a team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reached the state to provide support as two others also displayed symptoms of the virus infection.

The child developed fever on August 27 and was first admitted to a local clinic.