Suspected case not related to Nipah, says Health dept

The department of Health and Family Welfare has ruled out the possibility of Nipah virus in one of the suspected cases that was reported in Mangaluru on Tuesday.

Dr Mohammed Shariff, research officer, department of health and family welfare, said that the case of a 75-year-old who has been admitted to Wenlock Hospitals in Mangaluru is no more a suspected case. “The patient has been diagnosed with pneumonia. He has no evident symptoms of Nipah virus nor has any history of contact with the affected. Hence, we are ruling out a possibility of him being affected by the virus,” he said.

The reports of the other 20-year-old female patient from Kasargod is still awaited. “We have taken details. She is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Her blood samples have been sent to Manipal Hospital for examination,” he said.

He explained that the department could consider this as a case of high risk as she has been in contact with the nurse from Kerala Lini Puthussery, who died while treating one of the affected patients. The 20-year-old is a relative of the nurse and had visited her once recently.

As the sale of fruits peaks during the month of Ramzan, a few vendors in Mangaluru are anxious that the spread of the virus will have an impact on the sales. While a few vendors felt that business has not been affected, others said the Nipah fears have affected business.

Fruit vendor Anwar in Kulshekar said that the price of banana, grapes, papaya and mango has not dipped. However, the buyers are particular about not purchasing cut fruits, while expressing fear about the Nipah virus.

Ramesh, another vendor, said, “Usually, many prefer to buy a piece of pumpkin as a whole pumpkin will be too much for a small family. However, no one has purchased cut pumpkin in the last two days,” he said.

A farmer said, “It is better to use crop cover for fruits like banana, mango, guavas and to protect them from bats and other animals. I have used crop cover for the mangoes in my garden.”