The Kerala government on Sunday confirmed that the Nipah virus was the reason for the death of a 24-year-old man in Malappuram district earlier this month. This is the second death of the year due to the virus in the state.

The man, who was from Wandoor in the district, died on September 9 after showing encephalitis symptoms, The Indian Express reported. He was a student in Bengaluru.

The state health department said that samples were sent to the virology lab at the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode following the man’s death. The test results returned positive on Saturday, The Hindu reported.

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On Sunday, the National Institute of Virology in Pune confirmed that the man died of the Nipah virus. The Kerala government said that 151 persons had been identified as the man’s primary contacts.

The man had sought treatment in four private hospitals and also travelled to certain places with his friends. “The information of all of them has been collected and those who came in direct contact have been transferred to isolation,” stated the health department.

The statement added that five persons among those in the contact list who had shown mild symptoms had been isolated. “Samples were sent for testing,” it added.

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“Efforts are in the final stages to conduct contact tracing and surveillance of all those who are at risk of infection,” the department said.

On July 21, a 14-year-old boy from Pandikkad in Malappuram died due to the Nipah virus at the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode. Pandikkad is about 10 kilometres away from Wandoor.

Since 2018, Kerala has experienced five Nipah outbreaks. According to The Indian Express, only six patients who tested positive have survived till date: one in Kozhikode in 2018, another in Kochi in 2019 and four in Kozhikode in 2023.

In 2018, 17 out of 18 infected individuals had succumbed, while one death was reported in 2021. In 2023, two deaths due to the Nipah virus were recorded.