A nursing student in Kerala’s Kozhikode district has tested positive for the Nipah virus, local newspaper Mathrubhumi reported on Thursday.
So far, of the 160 people tested for the virus, 14 people have tested positive. Collector UV Jose has directed the authorities to postpone all public events in the district till May 31. The number of confirmed deaths from the infection in Kerala rose to 11 on Thursday, with the death of Kozhikode resident V Moosa.
Nipah virus can be transferred from animals to humans. It causes fever and cold-like symptoms, before quickly advancing to encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, and myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart. There is no vaccine or cure for Nipah infection at present.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka’s Mangaluru, a young woman who had developed a fever while in Kozhikode for her nursing internship, has tested negative for the infection, the Health Department said. She had travelled to the city from Kasargod in Kerala and had been in contact with patients who have since tested positive for the virus, health department researcher Mohammed Sharif had told Scroll.in on Wednesday.
The Kerala government convened an all-party meeting in Kozhikode on Friday to discuss the measures taken so far against the virus, reported The Hindu.
State health minister KK Shylaja has said that the government plans to manufacture Ribavarian, a tablet that has reportedly been found to be effective in fighting Nipah fever, according to The News Minute.
The state government has promised Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those who have died of the virus infection. In addition, it had offered a government job to the husband of the nurse who died of the infection after caring for a Nipah victim in Kozhikode’s Perambra town.
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