Kerala: Nipah virus situation is totally under control, says Minister Veena George

Speaking about the situation related to Nipah outbreak in Kerala the Kerala health minister stated that the virus is completely under control and more than 200 samples from the highrisk contacts were tested negativeIn an interview with PTI news agency Kerala Health Minister Veena George said so far 1233 contacts have been traced and categorised into highrisk and lowrisk contactsA very positive thing is that all four patients under treatment are now stable and the condition of the nineyearold boy who was on ventilator support is improving clinically He is now out of ventilator support and is being given minimal oxygen support George saidAround 19 teams on the field which are helping to implement strict protocol in order to bring things under control So far we have six positive cases and all the samples tested for the last three days were negative the minister saidAccording to the minister the Central teams who have been working with the Kerala health department have expressed their appreciation for the work the department has done to effectively contain the outbreakThey the Central team members sit in all discussions Our team leaders will explain every day in the convergence meeting how a contact which is very important a very highrisk contact was identified So the Central teams have really appreciated our work George saidThree Central teams one from ICMR one from NIV Pune and one from the Epidemiological Institute Chennai are in Kerala to bring the spread of Nipah virus under control The team had earlier visited the containment zones and Nipah epicentre in 2018 and have also conducted bat surveillanceThe system responded very well as per the protocol and guidelines which were twice modified in 2021 and then in 2023 in the treatment and containment of Nipah the minister saidPrimarily we are giving antiviral medicines like Remdesivir The dosages for infants and adults are all well written The protocol is being followed by both government and private hospitals George saidAccording to the minister understanding the vulnerability of Kozhikode to the Nipah virus outbreak a strict protocol has been followed since 2018We have set up a testing lab at the Medical College Kozhikode In August this year we tested 35 samples for the Nipah virus This year hundreds of samples were tested If anyone has encephalitis then that sample will be sent for testing for Nipah Geroge saidThe system has always been on high alert and a diagnosis protocol was ready Many studies have been conducted in Kozhikode from 2018 onwards including bat surveillance she saidWe are on constant alert constant vigil that will continue and integration of some departments like we have developed a one health programme in Kerala based on our experiences on Nipah Because this is an era of zoonotic diseases we cannot stay away from the concept of one health and it is only the state of Kerala that has developed that concept George saidSo far there are no travel ban or restrictions for anyone visiting Kerala or KozhikodeThe total number of cases of Nipah infection confirmed in the state are six of which two persons have died and four persons are being treatedThe World Health Organisation and ICMR studies have found that the entire state not just Kozhikode is prone to such infectionswith inputs from PTI