Nipah virus alert issued in three Kerala districts after two suspected cases
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that the suspected cases of Nipah virus are from Palakkad and Malappuram districts.
'An alert has been issued in three districts of Kerala, namely Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad, in connection with two new Nipah virus cases,' she said.
The tests conducted at medical college hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode have confirmed the infections. Samples have also been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further confirmation.
Even as a final confirmation is awaited, the government has directed officials to strengthen preventive measures to contain the spread of the virus.
The Health Minister said that 26 committees have been formed across districts to coordinate the response. Police support will be sought to prepare a contact list, and state and district-level helplines will be activated. District Collectors have been directed to make arrangements for declaring containment zones if required.
The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, is the only lab in the country that cultures the Nipah virus. The virus, which is zoonotic in nature (transmitted from animals to humans), can also spread through contaminated food or directly between people. The symptoms of the Nipah virus are fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, sore throat, dizziness, altered consciousness, and Atypical pneumonia.
In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) has a mortality rate of 50 per cent, making it one of the most dangerous viral diseases.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) developed RAMBAAN, a Mobile BSL-3 [MBSL-3] laboratory, an innovative initiative for providing the diagnostic surge capacity for enhancing the onsite laboratory services during the outbreaks of known and unknown high-risk pathogens.
RAMBAAN, a Made-in-India rapid action mobile lab, was also deployed in response to the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala in 2023 and 2024. 'The MBSL-3 was successfully deployed and operationalised for the first time in response to the Nipah virus (NiV) outbreak in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, in September 2023 and again in Malappuram District of Kerala state in July 2024,' said ICMR.
This 'laboratory on wheels' represents a significant advancement in outbreak investigation and public health emergency response in India. The ICMR is also working on an indigenous vaccine for the Nipah virus. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
WHO applauds ICMR-funded study on nutritions critical role in combating TB
New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): A study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has demonstrated the powerful impact of nutritional supplementation on tuberculosis (TB) patients and their World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded the findings and incorporated them into its updated global guidance on TB control, marking a major milestone in India's contribution to global health policy. 'A landmark study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), conducted in Jharkhand, has demonstrated the powerful impact of improved nutrition in reducing tuberculosis (TB) cases and fatalities. World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised this research, incorporating its findings into updated global guidance on TB control, marking a significant milestone in India's contributions to global health policy," the ICMR said in a statement. 'In India, tuberculosis and undernutrition are syndemics with a high burden of tuberculosis coexisting with a high burden of undernutrition in patients and in the population. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nutritional supplementation on tuberculosis incidence in household contacts of adults with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis," said the ICMR study published by The Lancet. 'To our knowledge, this is the first randomised trial looking at the effect of nutritional support on tuberculosis incidence in household contacts, whereby the nutritional intervention was associated with a substantial (39-48%) reduction in tuberculosis incidence in the household during 2 years of follow-up. This biosocial intervention can accelerate reduction in tuberculosis incidence in countries or communities with a tuberculosis and undernutrition syndemic," the study said. The study was conducted on 2800 patients with TB across 28 tuberculosis units of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in four districts of Jharkhand. 'In this field-based, open-label, cluster-randomised controlled trial, we enrolled household contacts of 2800 patients with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis across 28 tuberculosis units of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in four districts of Jharkhand, India," the study mentioned. 'The tuberculosis units were randomly allocated 1:1 by block randomisation to the control group or the intervention group, by a statistician using computer-generated random numbers. Although microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis patients in both groups received food rations (1200 kcal, 52 grams of protein per day with micronutrients) for 6 months, only household contacts in the intervention group received monthly food rations and micronutrients (750 kcal, 23 grams of protein per day with micronutrients)," it said. 'After screening all household contacts for co-prevalent tuberculosis at baseline, all participants were followed up actively until July 31, 2022, for the primary outcome of incident tuberculosis (all forms). The ascertainment of the outcome was by independent medical staff in health services," the study added. 'We used the Cox proportional hazards model and Poisson regression via the generalised estimating equation approach to estimate unadjusted hazard ratios, adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), and incidence rate ratios (IRRs)," it added. (ANI)
Mint
8 hours ago
- Mint
Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar shoot hit by health scare as 120 crew members hospitalised in Leh: Report
Reports have surfaced online claiming that the shoot of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh's upcoming film Dhurandhar has been halted in Leh, Ladakh. Reportedly, over 100 crew members were rushed to a hospital due to a health scare. According to ANI, they were suffering from food poisoning. It is believed that the incident took place on Sunday, August 17. Soon, about 120 crew members were rushed to the SNM Hospital in Leh district. The hospital has shared an update about the film team's health condition. The official confirmed that there were no casualties. "Our doctors were called in for the emergency as the patient rush was very high. By the end of the day, we had about 120 admissions. The situation was handled well, and all of them have been treated," the medical superintendent at the SNM Hospital told ANI. While most of the crew staff in the hospital are said to be in a stable condition and have been discharged, five are still under observation. "Some came with severe dehydration, while others had pain in the abdomen, vomiting, acute gastroenteritis, and headache. We received much help from the district administration, and we managed to transfer a few patients to manage the treatment and for crowd management," she added. The medical official shared that the patients were a part of the team that arrived for the shooting of a Bollywood film. But, the name of the film wasn't revealed. "This happened on the film's sets. They apparently had the food arranged on the sets and developed diarrhoea and vomiting. Food samples have been sent for examination, and the final reports are pending," she said. Reportedly, the team was filming Ranveer's upcoming film Dhurandhar. Meanwhile, one of the crew members' family members revealed to ANI that his sister, along with his brother's children and sister-in-law, were present in Leh. "We received a lot of help at the hospital, and the doctors and nurses supported us throughout. There were more than 100 people over here," he said. While the situation seems to be under control, the makers are yet to make an official statement about the incident. Dhurandhar is helmed by Uri fame director Aditya Dhar, husband of actor Yami Gautam.
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Sabarimala season: Health department action plan reviewed
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health Minister Veena George chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to finalise the health department's action plan for the upcoming Sabarimala Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season. In the meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram, the minister directed that all hospital maintenance works connected to the pilgrimage be completed at the earliest. She also directed that emergency medical centres, set up in coordination with the Travancore Devaswom Board, be fully equipped before the Mandala season begins. The meeting also emphasised for the availability of adequate stock of medicines, including anti-snake venom. The minister also called for the speedy appointment of medical staff, and instructed that additional beds be arranged in hospitals across Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki districts. It decided that the Konni Medical College will serve as the base hospital and be upgraded with more facilities. A comprehensive control room will function at Pampa Hospital.
