Nipah patient from Palakkad continues to be critical, 173 included on contact list

As the Palakkad native who was tested positive for Nipah is fighting for her life at the Government Medical College in Kozhikode, the government has intensified measures to prevent the spread of the disease around her native village in Palakkad district.

Health Minister Veena George told reporters in Palakkad after a review meeting on Monday that the 38-year old patient was administered two doses of Monoclonal Antibody, used as a potential treatment for Nipah infection.

As many as 173 people have been included on the contact list, 100 on the primary list and 73 on the secondary list. Of them, 52 are in the high-risk category while 48 are in the low-risk category.

The five samples of people who had developed symptoms tested in the district so far have turned out to be negative for Nipah while four other samples are being tested at the Government Medical College Hospital in Manjeri. As many as 12 people have been placed under isolation.

The area in the three kilometres radius of the patient’s house has been declared as a containment zone. The District Collector and District Police Chief are leading the surveillance in this area.

As Nipah spreads mostly when the patient is in critical condition, surveillance is focussed on people who met the patient after July 1. Meanwhile, a person identified to have had close contact with the patient at a private clinic in Mannarkkad, is yet to be traced.

Meanwhile the Health department will revisit cases of death due to brain hemorrhage and similar ailments during the past month with the help of private hospitals and the Indian Medical Association. Though the initial tests are being carried out at the Medical College Hospitals in Manjeri and Kozhikode, the results from the National Institute of Virology at Pune is considered the last word in confirming Nipah.

As field surveillance has been strengthened in Palakkad district, efforts have been made to ensure social and mental support to those in quarantine. Animal deaths in and around houses are also monitored while efforts are being made to test the samples from bats under the custody of the Department of Animal Welfare.

Quarantine facilities have been made available at Government Medical College Hospital in Palakkad. The Minister said that the hospital has facilities to treat even the positive cases.

Ms. George came down heavily on those spreading false information and making unfounded statements. “Nipah has been reported in Palakkad for the first time. The global death rate due to Nipah is 70% to 90%. Even as Kerala faced Nipah in 2018 and 2023, the death toll was very low. It was only 33% in 2023,” she added.

District Collector G .Priyanka, District Police Chief Ajith Kumar, Additional Director of Health Services (Public Health) K.P. Reetha, District Medical Officer K.R. Divya and senior officials of the Health department were present at the press meet.