TN govt instructs officials to hold surveillance in districts bordering Kerala

The Tamil Nadu government has directed health officials to strengthen surveillance in districts bordering Kerala after the Nipahvirus was detected in the neighbouring stateIn an advisory the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine instructed the department officials to screen all symptomatic cases of Nipah using protective equipment to prevent the spread of the infection to those administering the testThe department has instructed the Deputy Director of Health Services to strengthen the surveillance on Acute Encephalitis Syndrome fever with altered sensorium in the bordering districts of Kerala A boy in Kerala who had those symptoms passed away and his sample tested positive for NipahThose cases admitted from the bordering districts of Kerala especially Kozhikode and Malappuram should be followed up the advisory saidGovernment and private hospitals should be alerted about the Nipah virus outbreak and health teams should be deployed at border checkposts roundtheclock to screen all symptomatic cases especially in the Nilgiris Coimbatore Tiruppur Theni Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari the advisory saidStating that the Human Nipah virus NiV is an emerging zoonotic disease the advisory said it was first recognised in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 Again in 2001 and 2007 two outbreaks were reported in IndiaIn 2018 a major outbreak was reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala with 18 confirmed cases and 17 persons deadThe outbreaks occurred during the months of winter to spring DecemberMay and transmission of the Nipah virus to humans may occur after direct contact with infected bats infected pigs or from other Nipah virus infected people Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming batcontaminated fruits it addedFever altered mental status and severe weakness were some of the symptoms and in general the case fatality rate is estimated at 4075 per centCurrently there is no known treatment or vaccine available for either people or animals and intensive supportive care with treatment of symptoms is the main approach to managing the infection in people the advisory saidEarlier in the day in a statement the Union Health ministry said a 14yearold boy from Kozhikode exhibited the acute encephalitis syndrome and was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre in the districtHe succumbed to the disease and samples were sent to the Punebased National Institute of Virology which confirmed Nipah virus infectionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever