Summary:
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A detailed study by the state government in the recent outbreak of Nipah virus has suggested that 17 of the 19 infected people might have contracted the deadly virus from the first victim, 26-year-old Mohammed Sabith.Sabith, who died on May 5, was among the 17 people who lost their lives after they contracted the virus. Nipah test was also conducted on them, the sources said.The exhaustive report on the Nipah outbreak has been sent to the central surveillance department. The government had declared Kozhikode and Malappuram districts as free of Nipah on June 30 after no new cases were reported since May 31. Ten people got infected at the medical college on the single day he was there, the sources said.Though Sabith’s blood samples were not tested for Nipah, as per records, it has been concluded that he had contracted Nipah virus, the sources said.His younger brother was admitted to the hospital with similar symptoms and tests revealed that he was Nipah positive. Since the outbreak had national implications, the state surveillance unit has sought permission to officially close the outbreak as the 42-day double incubation period of the virus is over.Two of the infected patients made a miraculous recovery ..