The resurgence of Nipah virus in Kerala

According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, there have been two deaths since August 30, and there are three active cases currently, including a 24-year-old health professional who tested positive for Nipah on Wednesday night

New Delhi: Amid the global rise in Covid cases, India is seeing a fresh scare with the resurgence of Nipah virus in Kerala’s Kozhikode district.

Nipah is a zoonotic virus (transmission of virus from animal to humans), which can be spread through contaminated food or directly between humans on exposure to secretions. The fresh outbreak of Nipah started with the death of a person on August 30 but it was on Monday when a contact of the person, who passed away, tested positive, it was declared that Nipah is back.

According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, there have been two deaths since August 30, and there are three active cases currently, including a 24-year-old health professional who tested positive for Nipah on Wednesday night. The State government on Wednesday evening said at least 706 people, including 153 health workers, were undergoing tests to check the spread of the virus. The results are awaited.

The virus has surfaced again in Kerala for the fourth time. The present cases have been reported about 15 km from where the initial Nipah virus outbreak in southern India was first identified in Kozhikode in May 2018 and then again in 2021. In June 2019, a sporadic case of Nipah resurfaced from a geographically different location, at Kochi.

“The symptoms and signs of zoonotic diseases can greatly differ based on the disease and the organ systems affected. Fever, cough, respiratory distress, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, and fatigue are all common symptoms. It is worth noting, however, that some zoonotic diseases can display asymptomatically or with mild symptoms, making early detection and prevention difficult,” Dr Swati Rajagopal, Consultant - Infectious Disease & Travel Medicine, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, said.