12-year-old boy dies of Nipah virus in Kerala

A 12-year-old boy died of Nipah virus in Kozhikode district of Kerala early on Sunday. He was admitted to a private hospital for treatment. His condition worsened on Saturday, following which he succumbed to the virus at 5 am on Sunday.On September 3, the boy's condition was first reported as a suspected Nipah virus case. He showed symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis. The National Institute of Virology in Pune has confirmed that the sample from Kerala tested positive for the virus. Kerala health minister Veena George said the 12-year-old boy had been admitted to a private hospital first, then brought to a medical college and finally taken back to the private hospital.

Veena George added, "Yesterday we had a meeting with ministers from the district along with concerned officials. We have decided to form teams to handle the situation. Contact tracing and other measures have already been initiated. We posted special officers."The health minister will visit Kozhikode. She will be joined by Kerala minister PA Mohammed Riyas."As of now, there is no need to panic, but we need to exercise caution. At the moment, nobody from the family or other contacts have any symptoms," Veena George said. The central government has rushed a team of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to Kerala to provide technical support. The team will reach on Sunday.

In the wake of the virus resurfacing in Kerala, the Centre has advised some immediate public health measures which include active case search in the family, village and areas with similar topography especially in Malappuram. The measures also include active contact tracing for any contacts in the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts and isolation of any suspects and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing, the ministry said. The last time the Nipah virus was reported in Kerala was in 2019 in Kochi. In 2018, an outbreak in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts had claimed 17 lives.