High alert in Kerala as man tests positive for Nipah virus

Kochi, June 03: A high alert has been issued in Kerala on Monday after a 23 year old patient admitted in an isolation ward tested positive for Nipah virus.

State health minister, K K Shailaja said that the initial tests conducted on the patient at a hospital in Ernakulam showed that he was positive to Nipah. Six persons who were in contact with the man have also been quarantined as the government opened an emergency control room.

The man was admitted after he complained of fever that was persistent. He also complained of headache for ten days. He had contracted the fever when he had gone to Thrissur. A high alert has been declared in Thrissur as well.

Nipah is a virus that causes high fever, headache and also coma in extreme cases. It is spread by fruit bats. It may be recalled that an outbreak of Nipah had claimed 17 lives last year, including that of a nurse who had treated one of the patients.