2 more identified with symptoms of Nipah virus in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 05: Kerala has reported 2 more cases of the Nipah virus on Sunday, state health minister Veena George said.

The two are among the 20 high risk contacts of the deceased 12-year-old child, she said.

"We have identified 188 contacts till now. The surveillance team have marked 20 of them as high risk contacts. Two of these high risk contacts have symptoms. Both are health workers. One works with a private hospital, while the other is a staff member of Kozhikode Medical College hospital," she told reporters after chairing a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation.

She said all the 20 high risk contacts will be shifted to the Kozhikode Medical College by evening, while other contacts of the child have been asked to remain in isolation. The pay ward at the Medical College Hospital has been completely converted into a dedicated Nipah ward, she said.

The boy died at a hospital here early this morning. The samples of the boy, which were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, confirmed the presence of the virus.