Two people suspected to be infected with the brain-damaging Nipah virus are under treatment in Karnataka, a health official said. The rare virus has killed at least 11 people in adjacent Kerala, where medical crews are scrambling to manage the spread of the deadly disease - and to minimise panic.
Symptoms of the virus surfaced in a 20-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man in the port city of Mangalore after they travelled to neighbouring Kerala and had contact with infected patients, said Rajesh BV, a health official in Karnataka on Wednesday.
"They are not confirmed Nipah cases yet, so there is no need to panic," he said by telephone. "The situation is under control."
The patients are being treated and samples of their blood have been sent for screening, with results expected by Thursday, he added.
Nipah is a rare virus spread by fruit bats, which can cause flu-like symptoms and brain damage.
The Nipah virus or NiV infection has symptoms like breathing trouble, brain swelling, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can fall into coma within 48 hours. It travels through direct contact with a patient.
Nipah is a rare virus spread by fruit bats, which can cause flu-like symptoms and brain damage.
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