Nipah claims one more in Kozhikode

Marginal rise in the total number of suspected cases across the State

The Nipah virus infection claimed one more life in Kozhikode district on Thursday, taking the death toll to 12 even as the lab results of another person undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) tested positive.

The deceased has been identified as Moosa of Valachuketti house at Sooppikkada village of Changaroth grama panchayat near Perambra. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city. His two sons and sister-in-law had earlier succumbed to the infection. His body was buried according to religious rites at the Kannamparamba burial ground.

District Collector U.V. Jose said the standard operating procedure was followed during the burial and a 10-ft-deep pit was dug. Protective gears were provided to those who brought the body from the hospital and to those who helped bury it. Only a few relatives were present.

Meanwhile, the authorities at the MCH said they had been administering Ribavirin, an anti-viral drug, to three of the admitted patients. Right now, three people undergoing treatment had tested positive for the virus. Two of them are at the MCH and one at a private hospital here.

There has been a marginal rise in the total number of suspected cases across the State as the health authorities are preparing a line list of those who might have some contact with the deceased and their contacts.

According to District Medical Officer V. Jayashree, 29 people have been admitted to various hospitals. Eleven of them are in Kozhikode district, nine in Malappuram district, four in Ernakulam district, two in Kottayam district, and one each in Wayanad, Thrissur, and Thiruvananthapuram.

However, R.L. Saritha, Director, Health Services, told the media that there was no chance of transmission during the incubation period and only those who show the specific symptoms should provide their blood and body fluid samples for testing. There are reports that many are approaching hospitals with a demand that their blood samples be tested as they fear they might have had some contact with the deceased.