Chennai: Nipah has surfaced in the State again for the third time, after a gap of one year. While the Central government rushed a team to Kerala to support the State in its public health measures, Tamilnadu has intensified vigil across the border.
A 12-year-old boy died in a private hospital in Kozhikode on Sunday (September 5), after being infected with the Nipah virus.
The boy presented symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis — inflammation of the brain and heart muscles respectively.
The area near the boy’s house has been declared as containment while the police controlled traffic in a three-kilometer radius of the house in an attempt to prevent the possible transmission of the virus.
State health minister Veena George said today that the coming week is crucial for the state and expressed confidence that the latest outbreak will be localised and contained like that of 2018.
‘We have traced all contacts of the boy and quarantined. The next week is crucial for us. We have to keep utmost vigil,’ she said and added that the health department will also look at some of the earlier deaths if they had similar symptoms.