Centre to send team to Kerala for Nipah virus probe

NEW DELHI: The government will send a multi-member joint outbreak response team to Kerala to investigate a Nipah virus case in Mallapuram, uncover epidemiological links, and provide technical help.

The Union health ministry reported on Sunday that a 14-year-old child from the district was hospitalized to a Perinthalmanna hospital with acute encephalitis condition and sent to Kozhikode.

He died and samples were submitted to Pune’s National Institute of Virology, which confirmed Nipah virus infection.

The virus is usually carried by fruit bats, and humans can get it via eating bat-contaminated fruit.

The last Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) outbreak in Kerala was in 2023 in Kozhikode district, the notification stated.

The ministry encouraged the state to quickly implement public health measures like active case search in the boy’s family, neighborhood, and similar topography areas.