The Indian state of Kerala is on alert due to a Nipah virus scare following the death of two infected people in the state since 30 August.
In an attempt to stop the spread of the rare virus, several schools in the state have been shut, offices closed, and public transport restricted as new cases emerge.
The Outbreak
A government official informed that the first victim was a small landholder growing bananas and areca nuts in the Kozhikode village of Maruthonkara.
The second death followed contact with the first victim in the hospital, even though the two were not related.
The total number of positive cases rose to five, with the first victim’s daughter and brother-in-law and a medical worker catching the infection.
India's Kerala state shuts down schools and offices amid the risk of an outbreak of Nipah virus following the death of two people from the disease https://t.co/NAxd38Jdje pic.twitter.com/YupHI29Swk
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 13, 2023
Strict isolation rules are in place in the state, and medical staff coming in contact with the infected are being quarantined immediately.
The State Health Department prepared a contact list of 789 people linked to the deceased and over 700 people were tested for the virus.
Among those tested, there are 153 are health workers whose results are also awaited.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement, “More people could be tested...Isolation facilities will be provided.”
Containment zones have been declared in at least eight villages of Kozhikode, and people have been ordered to avoid public gatherings in the district for the next ten days.
State Health Minister Veena George told reporters, “Public movement has been restricted in parts of the state to contain the medical crisis.”
She remarked, “We are focusing on tracing contacts of infected persons early and isolating anyone with symptoms.”
The Virus
This is the fourth outbreak of the disease since 2018.
The State Health Minister said the virus detected in Kerala was the same as the one found earlier in Bangladesh.
The current strain spreads from human to human with a mortality rate of 70% but has a history of being less infectious.
State epidemiologists are using antivirals and monoclonal antibodies to treat the infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Nipah virus (NiV) was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak of the illness in some pigs and people in Malaysia and Singapore, resulting in more than 100 deaths.
NiV is a zoonotic virus, which may spread from infected animals or contaminated foods to humans. The virus can be spread by fruit bats, pigs, and through human-to-human contact (such as saliva or urine). The animal host reservoir for the NiV is the fruit bat, also called the flying fox.
The infected person may be asymptomatic or have symptoms like fever, headache, cough, vomiting, acute respiratory infection and encephalitis (brain swelling), leading to coma within 24-48 hours.
At present, no vaccines are available against the virus.