Nipah virus in Kerala: Schools and colleges in Kozhikode closed indefinitely

His nine-year-old son and brother-in-law are still being treated, along with two others, one of them a health worker, with whom he came into contact at a hospital.

The state government has directed that all educational institutions in Kozhikode in Kerala will remain closed indefinitely, a statement said CNBC report. This includes schools, professional colleges and tuition centers.

Health Minister Veena George has said that the contact list of infected persons currently stands at 1,080 people, while 130 people were newly added to the list today. Of all these, 327 people on the list are healthcare workers.

A total of 29 people in other districts are on the contact list of Nipah-infected people. Among them, 22 are from Malappuram, one from Wayanad and three from Kannur and Thrissur, Veena George said.

The government is also focusing on completing contact tracing of the sixth person confirmed on Friday to have been infected with the virus.

Veena George also said there were no new positive cases and in relief to the state, 94 samples – from persons in the high-risk contact list – have turned out to be negative for the virus.

Meanwhile, 21 people from Kozhikode Medical College and two children from the Institute of Maternal and Child Health (IMCH) were in isolation, George said. Everyone, including a nine-year-old boy who is on a ventilator, receiving treatment for the virus or in isolation, is stable, she added.

The minister said that all those infected are part of the first wave of the infection which has manifested itself in two clusters – one being the two relatives of the man who was the index case and the second the persons who came into contact with him. he went to the hospital for treatment.

Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip, meanwhile, said all wards where the man, who was the index case, went have been declared containment zones. “

Kozhikode District Collector A Geetha said arrangements have been made for online classes in educational institutions for the coming week and directed students not to participate in holiday-related celebrations.

The Collector also said that Beypore port will remain closed until further notice as it falls in one of the containment zones and has provided two alternative locations for landing of fishing vessels and sale of the catch.

The Center on Friday decided to procure 20 more doses of monoclonal antibody from Australia through the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the treatment of those infected with Nipah.

The Kerala Health Department on Friday said it has identified a total of 1,080 people in the contact list of the positive patients and has started collecting samples.

This is the fourth time the viral infection has been confirmed in the state. The disease was detected in Kozhikode in 2018 and 2021 and in Ernakulam in 2019. Surveys by the World Health Organization and ICMR have revealed that the entire state, and not just Kozhikode, is prone to such infections.

Updated: Sep 16, 2023 4:11 PM IST