On Tuesaday, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya confirmed that the two deaths reported from Kerala`s Kozhikode district were caused by Nipah virus.

The minister further informed that a central team of experts has been sent to Kerala to take stock of the situation. The team assist the Kerala government in the management of the Nipah virus infection.

“I have spoken to the Health Minister of Kerala, there have been reports of this virus several times this season. Cases are coming up, this virus is spread by bats. A guideline has been prepared by the Health Ministry regarding this so that we can take precautions,” Mandaviya said.

The Kerala government has also issued an alert in the district. The first death took place on August 30 and the second death on Monday.

According to official sources, samples of four more people from Kerala have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to test for the deadly virus.

On Tuesday, the Kerala government set up a control room in Kozhikode district and advised people to use masks as a precautionary measure.

“The government is viewing the two deaths seriously and the health department has issued an alert in Kozhikode,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

Earlier there was a Nipah outbreak in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala in 2018 and later in 2021, a case of Nipah was reported in Kozhikode.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah Virus is caused by fruit bats and is potentially fatal to humans as well as animals. Along with respiratory illness, it is also known to cause fever, muscular pain, headache, fever, dizziness, and nausea.

The health minister has directed local health workers to keep a close vigil in their areas. As a precautionary measure, the Health Ministry has also directed for an isolation facility in Kozhikode Medical College.

(with inputs from agencies)

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