Nipah outbreak: Kerala steps up efforts to prevent second wave

Amid concerns over a second wave of the Nipah virus infection, the Kerala Health Department intensified contingency measures in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts on Friday.

Three persons infected with the virus had died in Kozhikode on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the toll in the state to 17. The health department has sought details of persons who had come in contact with the virus-infected during the first phase of the outbreak.

The department has directed people who visited the casualty wing and CT scan facility in the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital on May 5 and 14 and a taluk hospital in Balussery on May 18 and 19 to report to the state Nipah cell.

The outbreak had Perambra in Kozhikode as its epicentre, causing the death of four members of a family. With the death of Rasin (25) on Thursday, after reportedly contracting the infection from a secondary source, the health department now faces the challenge of handling possibilities of the second wave of infection.

Staff including doctors at the taluk hospital in Balussery — where Rasin was treated initially — have been directed to go on leave, as part of precautionary measures.

Health Minister K K Shailaja told reporters that identifying a new source also meant preparing a fresh list of people who came in contact with the infected but the department was prepared for possibilities of the second wave of infection.

With the outbreak alert still on, schools in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts are set to re-open only on June 5. The Kerala Public Service Commission has postponed all examinations scheduled till June 16.