India
oi-Sushmita Halder
The
central
health
ministry
on
Tuesday
confirmed
that
the
deaths
of
two
persons
that
took
place
in
Kerala’s
Kozhikode
district
was
caused
by
‘Nipah
Virus’.
Union
Health
Minister
Mansukh
Mandaviya
said
samples
sent
for
testing
to
the
National
Institute
of
Virology
in
Pune
matched
with
one
of
the
deceased
and
four
of
his
kin.
He
further
said
that
a
team
of
experts
from
the
centre
has
been
sent
to
the
state
to
understand
the
situation
and
help
the
state
government
combat
Nipah
virus
infection.
Meanwhile
a
control
room
has
already
been
set
up
in
the
Kerala
government
and
people
are
strictly
advised
to
use
masks
as
a
precautionary
measure.
Showing
concern
over
the
issue,
Kerala
Health
Minister
Veena
George
said
that
16
committees
have
been
formed
to
handle
the
situation
and
the
hospitals
and
the
health
workers
have
been
directed
to
use
PPE
kits
and
follow
the
infection
control
protocol.
Earlier
in
the
day,
Kerala
chief
minister
Pinarayi
Vijayan
while
addressing
the
situation
said
that
the
state
government
is
serious
about
the
prevailing
situation
and
has
taken
precautionary
measures
to
deal
with
it.
The
first
case
of
Nipah
virus
was
found
in
South
India
in
Kozhikode
on
May
19,
2018.
What
is
Nipah
virus?
Nipah
virus
is
an
infection
that
is
transmitted
to
people
from
animals
and
can
also
be
transmitted
through
contaminated
food
or
directly
from
person-to-person,
according
to
the
World
Health
Organization
(WHO).
The
affected
people
suffer
from
asymptomatic
(subclinical)
infection
to
acute
respiratory
illness
and
fatal
encephalitis.
The
virus
can
also
cause
severe
disease
in
animals
such
as
pigs.
