ISLAMABAD: In a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the rare and deadly Nipah virus, which has already taken two lives in the latest outbreak, India has shut down some schools, offices, and suspended part of the public transport in the southern state of Kerala.
The state health authorities report that an adult and a child are hospitalized after being infected by the virus that is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs, or people. Over 130 people have already been tested on the possibility of being infected, reports Reuters.
According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, officials are focusing on contact tracing and isolating those with symptoms. She clarified that the virus identified in this outbreak is the Bangladesh variant, which is known to be transmitted between humans and has a high mortality rate, but it is usually less contagious.
She said that the health emergency has been contained by limiting the movement of people in some places.
The two fatalities, which have happened since 30 August, are the fourth outbreak of Nipah in Kerala since 2018. In Kozhikode district, where the cases have been concentrated, containment zones have been set up in at least seven villages.
Strict isolation measures have been enforced, and healthcare workers are quarantined when they have been in contact with infected patients.
The initial casualty was a small-scale farmer who grew bananas and areca nuts in the village of Marutonkara, a government official said. Investigators are trying to trace his steps and his contacts before he got sick. His daughter and brother-in-law, who also tested positive, are under treatment in isolation, and family members and neighbours are being screened.
Preliminary studies indicate that the second fatality was caused by exposure to the first victim when he or she visited the hospital, but the two were not related. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the contact was made before the confirmation of the diagnosis of the first patient.
On Wednesday, three central government teams, which included National Institute of Virology experts, came to conduct more tests and survey the local fruit bat population in the affected regions.
Nipah virus was discovered in 1999 in an outbreak in Malaysia and Singapore among pig farmers and those who had close contact with livestock. It produces severe respiratory symptoms and encephalitis, and is highly fatal. No vaccine or specialized treatment is available at present.
In South Asia, outbreaks have been associated with the use of date-palm sap contaminated by bat droppings or urine.
In 2018, Kerala had its first significant Nipah outbreak, where 21 of the 23 infected individuals succumbed. Two more deaths occurred in 2019 and 2021 as a result of other cases.
In May, a Reuters investigation reported Kerala as one of the world’s areas most at risk of outbreaks of bat-borne viruses due to the growing deforestation and rapid urbanisation that have led to an increased interaction between humans and wildlife.
