Kochi: Kerala’s battle-preparedness against the deadly Nipah virus has found success, with the authorities managing to prevent an outbreak. Six blood samples sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing turned out to be negative and the state government has declared that the danger has receded, although there is no letup in precautions.
This reduces the affected cases to just one, in which a 23-year old student is undergoing treatment and his condition is stated to be satisfactory. Six suspected victims are under observation in specially created isolation wards.
Although they have been tested negative, they will be discharged only as per a protocol developed for handling Nipah-suspected cases. State health minister K K Shailaja told newspersons in Kochi,
where a review meeting under the chairmanship of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan took stock of the situation, that a total of 311 people from various districts are still under observation and their samples are also being sent for tests.
Although the threat of an outbreak has gone away, the procedures for handling suspected cases would continue, she added. The minister then left for Delhi to meet Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, who has been constantly in touch with the Kerala authorities. —K Raveendran
