The government will deploy a multi-member joint outbreak response team to support Kerala in investigating a Nipah virus case detected in its Mallapuram district, identifying epidemiological linkages and providing technical assistance.
In a statement on Sunday, the Union health ministry said a 14-year-old boy from the district exhibited the acute encephalitis syndrome and was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre in Kozhikode.
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"A Nipah virus patient in Mallapuram district of Kerala, confirmed by NIV, Pune succumbs to the disease. A joint outbreak response Central team will be deployed to assist the State with case investigation, identification of epidemiological linkages, and technical support: Union Health Ministry," said Union Health Ministry in a statement issued on Sunday.
He succumbed to the disease and samples were sent to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, which confirmed Nipah virus infection, it said.
After this, the Nipah death toll in Kerala reached 21 in 2018. Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus, and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming bat-contaminated fruits.
Outbreaks of the Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) have been reported in Kerala in the past, with the last occurring in 2023 in Kozhikode district, the statement said. The ministry has advised the state to immediately implement public health measures such as an active case search in the boy's family and his neighbourhood and in areas with similar topography to the place where the case was detected.
Kerala has also been advised to start tracing people who have come in contact with the patient in the last 12 days and implement strict quarantine for them, and isolation for suspects. The multi-member joint outbreak response team from the 'One Health' mission of the health ministry will be deployed to support the state in investigating the case, identifying epidemiological linkages, and providing technical assistance, the statement said.