The lab results of five of the eight patients suspected to have contracted Nipah virus infection and under observation at present at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, had turned out to be negative, Health authorities said here on Tuesday.
However, all of them would continue to be under surveillance until the incubation period — the interval between virus infection and the exhibition of its symptoms — is over, R.L. Saritha, Director, Health Services, told the media. They include the two children of a nurse who succumbed to the infection, she said. The results in the three other suspected cases were yet to come. Two of the infected persons undergoing treatment were stable now and the third person admitted to a private hospital was in a critical condition.
There were six persons in the observation ward on Monday, while four new others were admitted on Tuesday. Of the lab results of 159 blood and other body fluid samples received so far, 143 had been negative, said Dr. Saritha.
Meanwhile, the number of people in the line list, people who might have had a contact with the deceased, their relatives and acquaintances, and the health personnel who treated them, had gone up to 958. Asked about the human monoclonal antibody being procured from Queensland State in Australia, MCH principal V.R. Rajendran said they had been shipped and would reach here soon.
Spreading of rumours
Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan, who was present at the press meet, said certain people were found to have been spreading rumours and lies through the social media, thwarting the attempt of the Health authorities to contain the Nipah outbreak. A case in point was a message written on a fake letter pad of the District Medical Officer, Kozhikode, advising people to avoid consuming chicken as lab results had proved the presence of the virus in it. Mr. Ramakrishnan said legal action would be taken against those who spread such messages.
