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Following the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala which led to two deaths, Dr Jugal Kishore, a senior doctor at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, on Saturday answered questions on the disease.
Speaking on the situation in Kerala, Dr Kishore said, "The Nipah infection is contagious. Every state needs to be alert. Fortunately, our ministry is very active and it has sent the medical team to Kerala. It is a very fatal disease and since it is contagious, we have to restrict the movements of people. We need to adopt all the precautions like washing hands continuously, restricting movements, etc. The infection has broken out in Kerala, it might spread in other states as well. So, every state has to make its people aware of the situation". "The Nipah virus is commonly found in animals, particularly bats and pigs. But if a human being comes in contact with a pig infected with the virus, he/she may also catch the virus. Once it is there in the human body, it might get transmitted to other people as well. We need to delve into the history of this virus. But now, what we are seeing is wherever there is high temperature and humidity, the Nipah virus germinates", Dr Kishore added. It is worth mentioning that one more case of Nipah virus has been confirmed in Kerala, in a 39-year-old man in Kozhikode, pushing up the number of active cases of the brain-damaging virus in the State to four, the state health department said on Friday. With this, the total tally of Nipah virus infections from the virus in Kerala has been recorded at six, including two deaths. The state government has strengthened measures to prevent the spread of the infection. Kerala has shut some schools and offices this week as officials raced to halt the spread of the deadly Nipah virus after two people succumbed in the fourth outbreak of the virus since the year 2018. Meanwhile, Dr Jugal Kishore also spoke on the symptoms of the Nipah infection. "Usually, it is asymptomatic (showing no symptoms). However, there are some common symptoms like fever, headache, and malaise. There are respiratory failures, too. People are dying of respiratory failures or coma", he said. Speaking on the precautionary measures in order to combat the virus, the doctor said, "The precautions are very simple. Since it is communicable, we need to reduce physical contact. Though, we still need to figure out the possible solutions as it is being worked upon". On being asked about similarities between the Corona and the Nipah virus, Dr Kishore stated, "Like the Coronavirus, there are different variants of it. But there is no relationship between the two". Meanwhile, in the wake of the outbreak of the virus, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar on September 14 visited the Indian Council of Medical Research National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), in Pune on Thursday and reviewed steps taken for containment of Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala. A multi-disciplinary team led by Dr Mala Chhabra has been deputed by the Union Health Ministry to support the state in public health measures to deal with this outbreak, the minister said. High-level teams from the Centre and ICMR-NIV with mobile units equipped with BSL-3 (Biosafety Level 3) laboratory have reached Kozhikode for on-ground testing. 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. Earlier in Kerala there was a Nipah virus outbreak in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in 2018 and later in 2021, a case of Nipah virus was reported in Kozhikode. (ANI)
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