Days after the Nipah virus claimed the life of a 12-year-old Kerala boy, the pathogen has infected 7 people in Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu, leaving healthcare experts concerned. There is a need to step up screening with the help of private laboratories, they stressed. Currently, samples are tested only at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, which increases its load and delays the testing process that is similar to the RT-PCR tests for Covid.

Locals in Kerala and Coimbatore this paper spoke to claimed that house-to-house screening has come to a stall and those with symptoms, especially in rural areas, continue to prefer home remedies to visiting government facilities. Nipah virus is transmitted to human beings from infected ‘fruit-bats’, through infected animals like pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep, contaminated food/fruits, or directly between people.