Nipah virus wipes out Kerala family as another man dies

With the latest death, Nipah virus toll reaches 12 in Kerala

PTI5_21_2018_000184B Family members of the patients admitted at the Kozhikode Medical College wear safety masks as a precautionary measure after the Nipah virus outbreak, in Kozhikode | PTI

The dreaded Nipah virus has literally wiped out a family from Perambra in Kozhikode district of Kerala by claiming the life of the fourth member on Thursday. Sooppikkada Valachuketti Moosa, who was battling the disease for the past many days, breathed his last at the Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode.

With Moosa's death, the Nipah toll has touched 12.

Moosa's sons Muhammed Salih and Muhammed Sabith, and his brother Moideen’s wife Mariam were the first victims of the Nipah virus outbreak in the state.

The outbreak of the virus infection, which is a zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans, is suspected to be from an unused well which was infested with bats and belonged to the Moosa family. The well was later sealed.

Advice to travellers

With the deaths due to the deadly Nipah virus being reported so far from northern Kerala, the state government has issued an advisory, asking travellers to avoid visiting the four districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kannur. The government has also called for an all-party meeting at Kozhikode on May 25 to discuss the issue.

Kozhikode district collector U.V. Jose has ordered temporary stoppage of all training programmes and summer camps in affected areas such as Changaroth, Koorachund, Kottur, Cheruvannur, Chekyad, Chakkittapara and Olavanna.

The anganwadis in these regions too, have been asked to close down to avoid the spread of the virus among children.

An expert team from the National Centre for Disease-Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and head of epidemiology, Dr S.K. Jain, and a high-level team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) are already in Kerala to take stock of the situation. Surveillance has been increased in all districts.

Over 50 families have emptied their houses at Koorachundu and Chakkittapara villages in Kozhikode district as fear of contracting the Nipah fever gripped them. Many have left their homes and have proceeded to kin's residences at distant locations as the Nipah fever have already claimed 11 lives in Kozhikode and adjoining Malappuram district.

In Koorachundu panchayat, some 22 families from wards 10, 11 and 12 have locked up homes and left. A few were seen sitting outside locked-up houses as they had no idea where to proceed to.

The villagers also fear a repeat of the five dengue fever deaths that were reported in the area last year.