Nipah scare: In the wake of a Nipah outbreak in Kerala's Kozhikode district, the Karnataka government has issued a circular to strengthen surveillance in the border districts and has advised the general public to avoid unnecessary travel to affected areas of Kerala. The brain-damaging virus has killed two people and infected four others in the Kozhikode district of Kerala.
The circular was issued by the Karnataka Health Department. In the circular, the Karnataka government said, "In view of four confirmed Nipah cases with two deaths in Kozhikode, the state surveillance activities in the districts boarding Kerala need to be intensified to prevent the transmission of the infection."
Guidelines for Nipah prevention
- Avoid unnecessary travel of the general public from Karnataka to the affected area of Kerala.
- Setting up check posts for fever surveillance at the point of entry from Karnataka to Kerala and to intensify fever surveillance in bordering districts such as Chamarajanagar, Mysore, Kodaga, and Dakshin Kannada.
- Ensuring widespread dissemination of IEC materials to educate the general public regarding the Nipah virus disease, and avoid unnecessary panic.
- Training of Health staff right upto PHC level.
- District Rapid Response team (RRT) inclusive of veterinary officers to be alerted.
- Identify and keep reserved at least 2 beds in district hospitals for quarantining the suspected case reported if any and negative pressure ICUs to be identified.
- Ensure adequate stock of all essential drugs and oxygen in the hospitals.
- Ensure adequate stock of PPE, VTM and other accessories for sample collection and transportation from a suspected case.
- All private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics to report the suspected case to the District Health and Family Welfare Officer of the concerned district immediately.
- Collect the clinical sample from the suspected case if any and arrange for the immediate shipment to NIV, Pune through NIV, Bengaluru as per the guidelines.
Nipah in Kerala
As per the reports, seven gram panchayats in Kerala's Kozhikode, where two individuals died from the Nipah virus, have been designated as containment zones, the government informed. The state government has also imposed restrictions and other measures to curb the spread of the infection.
The ICMR's National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune sent its mobile BSL-3 (Biosafety Level-3) laboratory to Kozhikode to test the sample. A team of experts from the Department of Animal Husbandry has also been deployed to assist the state in the surveillance of animals, official sources told news agency PTI.
Samples will be collected from bats to check for the presence of the Nipah virus. The ICMR's mBSL-3, the first Biosafety Level-3 containment mobile laboratory in south Asia, will help early testing and detection of the infection at the district level itself.
This is the fourth time the viral infection has been confirmed in the state. It was detected in Kozhikode in 2018 and 2021 and in Ernakulam in 2019.
About Nipah Virus
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the deadly brain-damaging Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus (transmitted from animals to humans) that can be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. The virus can also cause severe disease in pigs and other animals, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.
Signs and Symptoms
The early symptoms that an infected person has include fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting, and sore throat. This may also include dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological symptoms indicative of acute encephalitis. The effective people may also feel atypical pneumonia and serious respiratory issues, such as acute respiratory distress. Severe cases include encephalitis and seizures, which progress to coma within 24 to 48 hours.
(With agencies input)
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