Chennai/Kochi: The Tamilnadu government has issued an alert to Health department officials in districts bordering Kerala in view of Nipah virus outbreak in the neighbouring State.
“People have nothing to worry. The situation is very much under control and there is no threat as of now. We are ready to handle it,” an official said.
This has come after the Kerala government confirmed the resurfacing of the disease, a year after two north Kerala districts were hit by the virus. It had claimed 17 when it hit last time around.Ā With 17 lives already lost to the deadly virus in the neighbouring State last year, the State government does not want the virus to spread here.
A 23-year-old student was confirmed to be infected with the potentially deadly virus and the Kerala government said 311 people from various districts with whom the student had interacted were under observation.
The student, who is being treated at a private hospital, is slowly improving and his fever subsiding, according to a medical bulletin.
The results of blood samples of the student, which were tested at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, have confirmed Nipah, State Health Minister K K Shailaja said in Kochi. The result came this morning, she added.
Earlier, blood samples examined at two virology institutes – Manipal Institute of Virology and Kerala Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases – had indicated Nipah.
The government said four people – three who attended to the student initially and one person who studied with him – were suffering from fever and sore throat.
They were shifted to the isolation ward set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital here for detailed medical examination. Their health condition is satisfactory, according to authorities. Shailaja said the condition of the student is stable and he was not put under any support system like ventilator.
“Good care is being given to the patient. The patient sometimes become restless due to fever…We expect a good result,” she told reporters. A medical bulletin issued by the hospital late in the night said he was admitted on 30 May. “At present, the patient is clinically stable, slowly improving and his fever is subsiding,” it said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there was no need to panic as the health network would rise up to the challenge. “We are in constant contact with the Union ministry for health. A team of experts have arrived in Kochi. Their guidelines will also be used to tackle the virus outbreak,” Vijayan said in a Facebook Post.