It has been confirmed that three of the four people, who were under observation at the medical college hospital and a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, do not have Nipah as the relevant tests conducted at the virology lab in Alappuzha proved negative. The test results of the fourth person would be out on Friday.
Meanwhile, body fluid samples of a person, who died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the Kerala capital, have been sent to the lab. The Kilimanoor native had earlier also undergone treatment for tuberculosis.
Central team holds checks
An expert team assigned by the Central government conducted checks at Paravur in Kerala’s Ernakulam district and Thodupuzha in Idukki district to find the source of the dreaded Nipah virus. The checks were held at the Nipah-infected youth's house at Thuruthipuram at Vadakkekara, the private college in Thodupuzha where he studied and the rented house where he lived. The team from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, led by its principal scientist Dr Rajukumar, conducted checks in Paravur.
The team also checked bat-infested areas and pig farms. The collected samples, including the excreta of the bats, would be tested at the lab in Bhopal.
The National Centre for Diseases Control examined areas in Thodupuzha. Dr Riji Jain, Dr Satheesh Nagaraj, Dr Raghu, and Idukki district medical officer Dr N. Priya were part of the team.
The district medical officer said the team was not able to the find the source of the disease in Thodupuzha, after conducting the preliminary inspection.
Meanwhile, arrangements have been done at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital in Ernakulam to conduct tests for ascertaining the disease. A point-of-care facility was set up in the hospital's micro-biology lab with the help of the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
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Authorities have also collected information about 255 people from the 316 who had interacted with the Nipah-hit youth. Details of 224 people were scrutinised, and the authorities identified 33 as highly vulnerable who continue to be under observation.
Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja is set to meet Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani in Delhi on Friday.
This article originally appeared in onmanorama.
