A 42-year-old woman from Valanchery municipality in Kerala’s Malappuram district has tested positive for the Nipah virus, marking the seventh outbreak in the state since 2018 and the third in Malappuram.
The Nipah infection was confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on May 8th. Earlier tests at a Kozhikode government laboratory had been negative, but a subsequent test came back positive, leading to the sample being sent to NIV for confirmation.
Her condition is reported to be critical, and she is currently in the intensive care unit on a ventilator.
The woman was admitted to a private hospital in Perinthalmanna on May 1st after experiencing worsened clinical symptoms, including those of acute encephalitis syndrome. She had initially shown minor symptoms on April 25th.
Health officials have initiated intense contact tracing.
Though samples were collected from seven high-risk individuals closely connected to the woman who tested negative for Nipah as of May 8, they will remain under observation for 21 days.
Interestingly, two other family members of the infected woman had recently recovered from a prolonged fever, and the family’s pet dog had died recently, prompting the animal husbandry department to collect samples for testing. Malappuram district authorities have declared containment zones in several wards of Valanchery Municipality and neighbouring panchayats (Marakkara, Edayoor, and Athavanad).
Restrictions, including avoiding crowds, not visiting hospital patients, avoiding fruits bitten by animals, and mandatory mask-wearing, have been imposed, and anganwadis and madrasas in these zones are closed until further notice.
Twenty-five committees have been formed to implement the Nipah protocol in the affected areas.
The source of the infection is currently under investigation, as the woman reportedly had no recent consumption of fruits or direct contact with bats, which are common sources of Nipah infection.
Kerala’s Health Minister, Veena George, has headed to Malappuram to oversee and coordinate the containment measures. She convened an emergency meeting in the district following the confirmation of the case.
A state medical board has recommended administering monoclonal antibodies to the patient, pending approval from the hospital ethics committee, as there is currently no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for Nipah virus infection, with care remaining primarily supportive.
