Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that 48 high-risk contacts are stable and are under treatment at the Medical College Hospital. A total of 252 contacts so far have been quarantined.
In a major relief for health authorities in Kozhikode in Kerala, samples of eight high-risk contacts of the 12-year-old boy who succumbed to the Nipah virus have come back negative.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George told reporters earlier today that three sets of samples each of the eight high-risk contacts of the Nipah patient, sent for confirmation to the National Institute of Virology lab in Pune, are negative. This includes the deceased’s parents, family members and the health workers who treated him closely before his death at the Medical College Hospital and a private hospital.
Finding no traces of the virus in the first set of high-risk contacts of the patient helps the health department immensely in containing the virus.
A new lab, set up with RT-PCR machines at the Medical College Hospital, has begun to test remaining samples, results of which would be available later today. The minister said 48 high-risk contacts are stable and are under treatment at the Medical College Hospital. A total of 252 contacts so far have been quarantined.
The department will embark on a house-to-house surveillance in the containment zone declared in Chathamangalam panchayat where the Nipah patient lived.
“The process of source identification is going on. Contact tracing will also go on and we don’t want to miss anyone out. We have also begun surveillance for fever cases in the area,” the minister said.
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