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A statement by Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the Nipah virus infection was confirmed after a 24-year-old health worker tested positive at a private hospital. The government has stepped up its efforts to cure a 9-year-old boy suffering from a deadly infection by ordering the only anti-viral treatment.
The government has ordered monoclonal antibodies from ICMR to treat the child.
What is the treatment for Nipah virus?
It is the only available anti-viral treatment for Nipah virus infection, although it is not yet clinically proven. The government said the strain of the virus seen in the state was the Bangladesh strain, which spreads from person to person and has a high mortality rate, although it is less contagious.
George further informed that the 9-year-old boy is on ventilator support in a hospital in Kozhikode and his condition remains critical. “We have ordered the monoclonal antibody to ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and it will be brought to Kozhikode soon. He said that the imported medicine is already available with ICMR.
Kozhikode | On suspected Nipah virus case in the state, Kerala Health Minister Veena George says “The results of samples which were sent to the Pune Virology Lab after suspecting the Nipah virus will be received by evening. We have already made a list of contacts of the people pic.twitter.com/cy3Jd8ZpmW
— ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2023
The health minister said that the condition of all 76 people in the high-risk contact category is stable. They said 13 people with mild symptoms are now being monitored in hospital and only the child is in the intensive care unit. The samples are regularly tested at the laboratories of Kozhikode Medical College and Thonakal Virology Lab, he said, adding that samples from people with severe symptoms will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
She was speaking to the media in Thiruvananthapuram after attending a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in view of the brain-damaging virus, which has killed two people and infected several others in Kozhikode district.
The Minister said that the District Collector has been authorized to issue instructions to people in Kozhikode to avoid large gatherings till September 24. “The district collector can decide according to his analysis of the situation whether to issue such direction and timing or not,” said George.
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