3 days ago
Nipah survivor from Mangaluru in coma at Kozhikode hospital to get ₹17 lakh from CMDRF
A sum of ₹17 lakh will be granted to Titto Thomas, a Mangaluru-native healthcare worker who recovered from Nipah infection in 2023, from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).
This was decided at the State Cabinet meeting held in the capital on Wednesday (August 13, 2025). Though he tested negative for the virus, Mr. Thomas has been in a coma at a private hospital in Kozhikode for the past one-and-a-half years after being diagnosed with a relapse of Nipah encephalitis.
He had initially contracted the infection while attending to a patient during the August–September 2023 outbreak at a private hospital in Kozhikode, where he had been working. He hails from Mardala, near Mangaluru, in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
Mr. Thomas' case was the first reported relapse of the infection in the State, which has experienced several Nipah outbreaks and episodes till now. His brother, Shijo Thomas, told The Hindu that the financial assistance would be of great help to the family. At present, the private hospital where he had been employed is bearing the cost of his medical treatment.
