On Wednesday, 13th September, the number of Nipah cases touched 5 in Kerela. Four infections were reported in the past few days. Two men have died in the last two weeks. One worker sample tested positive in a hospital in Kozhikode. The other worker passed away on August 30. The state government has taken several safety measures. A control room was arranged to track the development of the infections. A total of nine panchayats in Kozikhode are highlighted as containment zones. The Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, foisted social distancing in the district for ten days. The public functions and social gatherings are restricted to a limited number of people. The police need to give prior permission for social meetings. Some of the various containment zones are Ayanchery, Maruthonkar, Thiruvalloor, and Kuttiady. The Champions boat league, scheduled on September 24th, is postponed.
What is the Nipah Virus?
Nipha Virus is a disease transmitted from animals to humans or contaminated food. People infected show various symptoms, from asymptomatic infection to respiratory illness. The first outbreak of this virus was in Malaysia in 1999. These infections spread through infected pigs or their tissues. The following outbreak was in Bangladesh that occurred due to contaminated fruits. These fruits had bat urine and saliva present. The natural host of the virus is called the Pteropodidae family. There is no current vaccination available for the virus. The World Health Organisation has listed the Nipha as a priority disease that needs research and development. The caregivers of these patients are most likely to get infected.
Symptoms
1] Initial symptoms are fever, headaches, vomiting and soar throat. Other symptoms can be drowsiness and dizziness
2] Atypical pneumonia and respiratory problems, including respiratory tensions
3]The period between the infection and the development of the symptoms is between four to fourteen days.
4]Specific symptoms are absent in the Nipha Virus, leading to difficulty in diagnosis and testing.
5]The tests used to detect the virus is RT-PCR [real-time polymerase chain reaction] and ELISA[enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay].
Treatment
There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for Nipah virus infection. The World Health Organisation has recommended that the infected person should be treated with immense care.
Rules Imposed for the Tourist
1]Masks have been made mandatory
2]Tourists should avoid all the containment zones
3]No restrictions on tourist spots have been placed outside containment zones.
Conclusion
Veena George the minister of health said 789 people under the confirmed cases were recognised. The contact list is growing further due to the public release of the infected individuals list. Some patients are segregated in Kozhikode hospitals and 77 of the total fall into the ”most infected category. A nine-year-old kid is currently on life support. She added that the child’s monoclonal antibody is significant for his treatment.
In Ayancheri and Maruthonkara ,some samples consumed by bats,were found. Door-to-door surveys are conducted in the villages by local bodies. Two professional teams, one from ICMR-Pune and the other from the Union Health Ministry, will arrive in Kozhikode on Wednesday night to assist the state government in handling the issue.
