nipah virus

With no new cases of Nipah Virus Infections in the past one week, the district authorities in Kerala's Kozhikode on Friday exempted all the wards of the nine panchayats in Vadakara Taluk from the containment zone and announced further relaxations in the remaining containment zones. Relaxations were also announced in all the wards of Feroke Municipality and seven wards of Kozhikode Corporation, which are within the containment zone

From importing monoclonal antibodies to deploying a mobile biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory in Kozhikode, the Kerala Government is taking all possible measures to curtail the spread of the deadly Nipah virus, which is rising rapidly in the region. The mobile laboratories were established to speed up the sample testing, which will be crucial to contain the spread of the virus.

A 24-year-old health worker who came into close contact with Nipah patient tested positive, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to five. Despite the alert and containment zone announcement, at least 700 people came in contact with a 24-year-old, increasing the risk. Out of these 700, about 77 are in the high-risk category, Kerala health minister Veena George said. Meanwhile, people are advised to be cautious.