CHENNAI: A day after Nipah virus claimed 10 lives in Kerala, doctors and Tamil Nadu government have issued travel advisories to those planning to visit the state.Most private doctors are asking people to cancel holidays or postpone meeting in and around Kozhikode district of Kerala, where at least 10 people have died after an outbreak of Nipah virus.READ ALSO: Nipah virus: All you need to know On its part, the state health department has advised travellers to take extreme precaution.The directorate of public health has asked travellers, particularly those on holidays, to avoid contact with those infected or eating raw fruit without washing or peeling.The director of public health Dr K Kolandaswamy said the department has also asked doctors, doctors’ bodies and hospitals to update fever cases periodically and report if they see symptoms such as fever, headache, disorientation, respiratory distress, confusion leading to rapid deterioration including coma.“It is common practice for people to pick fruits that are bitten by squirrels as they believe it will be sweater. We are telling them not to do that because it could have been an infected fruit bat. Infected patients develop inflammation of the brain and become very sick. Treatment is limited to supportive care,” he said.The state will use the upcoming inter-state health officials meeting to discuss how states can prevent further spread of the virus from person-to-person or animal to man. “Officials in Kerala have told us that standard infection control practices and proper barrier nursing techniques are undertaken preventing hospital-acquired infections. This should take care for spread from one person to another,” he said.To prevent zoonotic infections, the department is also speaking to department of veterinary sciences and vet hospital so it does not spread among animals, particularly in areas bordering Kerala.lnfectious disease expert Dr V Ramasubramanian says that Nipah is an emerging infectious disease, which is not commonly seen in the region.The disease that spreads through fruit bats were first seen in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999. It was diagnosed in domestic pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses, and sheep before human beings.“There have been cases of human-to-human transmission of the disease in West Bengal and typically, patients present with encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion. “Avoid travel to infected area as far as possible. Else don’t eat raw fruits without washing them,” he said.

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