Kozhikode, Sep 18: The situation regarding the latest Nipah outbreak in Kerala is completely under control, and more than 200 samples from the high-risk contacts were tested negative, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said here on Monday. In an interview with PTI, the minister said so far 1,233 contacts have been traced and categorised into high-risk and low-risk contacts. “A very positive thing is that all four patients under treatment are now stable, and the condition of the nine-year-old boy, who was on ventilator support, is improving clinically. He is now out of ventilator support and is being given minimal oxygen support,” George said.
A round-the-clock control room and 19 teams on the field have helped in the strict implementation of the protocol, bringing things under control, she said. “So far, we have six positive cases, and all the samples tested for the last three days were negative,” the minister said.
The Central teams who have been working with the Kerala health department have expressed their appreciation for the work the department has done to effectively contain the outbreak. “They (the Central team members) sit in all discussions. Our team leaders will explain every day in the convergence meeting how a contact, which is very important, a very high-risk contact was identified. So the Central teams have really appreciated our work,” George said. Three Central teams, one from ICMR, one from NIV, Pune, and one from the Epidemiological Institute, Chennai are in Kerala.
They had earlier visited the containment zones and Nipah epicentre in 2018 and have also conducted bat surveillance.
The system responded very well as per the protocol and guidelines, which were twice modified in 2021 and then in 2023, in the treatment and containment of Nipah, the minister said. “Primarily, we are giving antiviral medicines like Remdesivir. The dosages for infants and adults are all well written. The protocol is being followed by both government and private hospitals,” George said. “We have set up a testing lab at the Medical College, Kozhikode. In August this year, we tested 35 samples for the Nipah virus. This year, hundreds of samples were tested. If anyone has encephalitis, then that sample will be sent for testing for Nipah,” the minister said. (PTI)
