Nipah virus threat: 11 dead, Kerala issues advisory against travel to four districts

As two suspected cases of Nipah virus emerged in neighbouring Karnataka, the Kerala Government is conducting surveillance in Kozhikode and in neighboring districts of Malappuram, Waynad & Kannur.

Rajeev Sadanandan, additional chief secretary at the Kerala Department of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday said the travelling to any part of Kerala is safe and that the situation was under control.

''Travelling to any part of Kerala is safe, however if travelers wish to be extra conscious they may avoid Kozhikode,'' he said.

Doctors in the affected region in Kerala, on their part, are sending daily reports on any new patients to a special action force constituted by the state government and health services.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Health Department has confirmed a suspected case of Nipah virus in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The suspected victim is a 20-year-old of the Kasargod district that borders Kerala and Karnataka. She is believed to have contracted the virus when she was visiting her relative in Kasargod who died of the virus infection. She is not quarantined in a private hospital in Mangaluru and samples have been sent to the diagnostic centre in Pune. In Karnataka, health officials have been put on alert.

The scare has spread to other parts of the country as well. While Pondicherry, Telangana and Goa have gone on alert, the Rajasthan government has asked its Health officials to create awareness about the NiV virus.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda has directed that a six-doctor team be constituted to probe the outbreak of the virus. In Kerala, Governor P. Sathasivam has appealed to the people to not panic and follow the advisories issued by the State Health Department. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government was closely monitoring the outbreak and taking steps to prevent its spread.