The Kerala Officials have warned of a second Nipah Virus outbreak in the State. The virus has already killed 17 people in Kerala.
Kerala Health Minister K. K. Shailaja explained the possibility of a second outbreak. The Minister said, “We had indicated at the outset itself, there could be a possible second outbreak and the vulnerable are those who would have come in contact with the affected.”
She further added, “All such people have to be closely watched… tests will reveal only at the appropriate time when the symptoms of the Nipah virus surface, so all those who have come in direct contact with the earlier affected have to see they get in touch with the special control room set up in Kozhikode.”
Friday was the first day Kerala hospital did not have a single positive case of the virus. But 6 people were admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College with symptoms of the virus.
Out of the 203 samples tested a total of 18 were positive cases. The Centre granted regulatory waivers for an emergency import of the antibody. This is a 50 dose consignment of Monoclonal 102.4 antibodies developed by an Australian researcher.
The antibody developed by Dr. Christopher C. Broder reached New Delhi yesterday night. The medication to treat the ill will be sent to the Kozhikode Government Medical College in Kerala. The outbreak of the Nipah Virus began in Kerala.
Studies with the antibody show a 90% success rate among the Nipah Virus patients in Bangladesh. This antibody is rare and is called a wonder drug. The virus has already killed 16 people in Kerala and multiple are suffering from symptoms of the disease.
The Nipah virus or NiV infection is a rare disease that shows symptoms like breathing trouble, inflammation of the brain, headache, fever, delirium, disorientation and drowsiness. This disease can cause the patient to fall into a coma within 48 hours of being infected.
The World Health Organization confirmed there is no vaccine for the virus yet. The United Nations Health body explained the main treatment for those infected is intensive supportive care.
The virus can infect animals just as bad as it affects humans with a 70% mortality rate. Nipah virus is spread by fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family and can be easily transmitted. The virus can spread from eating the fruit that has been in contact with the infected fruit bat. It also spreads from person to person through direct contact.
