14-Year-Old Kerala Boy Tests Positive For Nipah Virus

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday confirmed Nipah infection in a 14-year-old boy from Malappuram district.

George, who met the media here, said the Pune NIV (National Institute of Virology) had confirmed the infection in the boy who is currently under treatment at a private hospital.

"He will be shifted to the government medical college at Kozhikode. The contact tracing has begun. High-risk contacts have already been isolated and their samples have been sent for testing," George told the media.

The child is under treatment and is on a ventilator, George added.

Minister said the epicentre was Pandikkad and that precautionary measures have already been initiated.

She asked the people in the locality of the epicentre and the nearby hospitals to wear masks in public spaces and avoid visiting patients in hospitals.

The state government had announced recently that a special action calendar was being prepared for the prevention of a Nipah outbreak, which has haunted the state on four occasions in the past.

Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021, and 2023 and in Ernakulam district in 2019, and the presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts.

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