Like during COVID-19, the containment zone is barred from entry, with all key entry and exit routes to and from these wards being barricaded and police personnel posted . Shops selling essential items and medical shops can operate from 7 am to 5 pm. Those requiring urgent medical care and hospital attention are exempt from the restrictions.
In the wake of a Nipah outbreak in Kerala, due to which two people lost their lives and three others have tested positive for the virus, the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has delivered the antibody requested by the state to combat the deadly virus. A mobile laboratory was also sent to ground zero to enable the state to test samples. Nine panchayats in Kozhikode district of the state have been turned into containment zones, with hundreds of health workers visiting homes of residents every day, conducting medical check-ups , monitoring people, and collecting data – a scene reminiscent of during the Covid-era. One more case was confirmed today in the state, taking the tally to six. As of now, there are four active cases in Kerala now.
Like during COVID-19, the containment zone is barred from entry, with all key entry and exit routes to and from these wards being barricaded and police personnel posted . Shops selling essential items and medical shops can operate from 7 am to 5 pm. Those requiring urgent medical care and hospital attention are exempt from the restrictions.
Here are top 10 developments on this big story:
- Authorities created containment zones after two people died after being infected by the Nipah virus. Five more are undergoing treatment at the hospitals. The samples of another 15 people in the high-risk contact list have also been sent for tests.
- In a big relief to the state government, the samples of 11 people sent to Pune’s National Institute of Virology for testing have returned negative.
- The ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has sent its mobile BSL-3 (Biosafety Level-3) laboratory to Kozhikode to test samples for the virus. The decision was taken after five cases, including two deaths, were recorded.
- A five-member central team comprising experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, RML Hospital and NIMHANS has been stationed in Kerala to take stock of the situation and assist the state government in the management of the Nipah infection, news agency PTI reported.
- Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the stability of the antiviral was discussed with a central expert committee. “Further steps or course of action will be decided by the expert committee,” she said and referred to consultations between the state and the Union Health Ministry.
- The epicentres of the outbreak are the Kallad ward in Maruthonkara panchayat and Mangalad ward in Ayancheri panchayat. The 47-year-old man who died on August 30 was a resident of Maruthonkara, the 40-year-old who passed away on September 11 lived in Ayancheri.
- Asha workers are collecting detailed information about the health of the residents using a form. “Residents will fill the form based on their current health status. If they are experiencing fever, cough or other symptoms, they have to record it and we will keep a close tab,” Moidu Master Kattil, the panchayat president in Ayancheri said, according to PTI.