Undaunted, doctor performs last rites for Nipah victims

Dr. R.S. Gopakumar.

He gets frantic calls from home almost every day, a worried wife asking him to be careful about his health. But R.S. Gopakumar, health officer attached to the Kozhikode Corporation, seems fearless in the face of the unexpected outbreak of Nipah virus infection, even going to the extent of carrying the coffins and lighting the pyre of some of those who died of the rare disease.

When 25-year-old Rasin succumbed to the infection on May 31, there was no one to perform his last rites. His father had passed away and his mother was in the isolation ward of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, with suspected symptoms.

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“I asked Rasin’s mother if I could perform the final rites as per Hindu religious beliefs. She said yes. I carried the pall to the crematorium and lit the pyre and performed the rituals,” he said. The staff of the Ivor Madhom crematorium on the banks of the Bharathappuzha in Thrissur district helped him. A day before, he had to help the relatives of Abin, 26, who too lost his life to the virus, to perform the last rites.

The protocol laid down by an expert team from the National Centre for Disease Control was followed during the cremation and burial as exposure to the virus can be fatal.

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Reema Sahay, scientist from the National Institute of Virology, was present at the Kannamparambu burial ground when the body of V. Moosa, whose two sons too died of the infection, was taken for last rites. The directions from Dr. Sahay, an expert in handling Ebola victims, came in handy, Dr. Gopakumar pointed out. Those handling the body are supposed to wear personal protective equipment.

Some staff of a corporation crematorium even refused to perform the last rites of Rajan, one of the earlier victims. The body was kept in an ambulance for hours before Ivor Madhom staff were called in to do the rituals.

Dr. Gopakumar also helped some others who died of suspected infection. Sabeerath did not have any relatives except her husband. With his permission, Dr. Gopakumar carried the coffin to the burial ground. When the body of Raghu, 53, was taken to the crematorium, his relatives refused to wear the PPE and perform the rituals.

“After my efforts to convince them about the need to wear the equipment failed, I carried the coffin myself with the help of some social activists and lit the pyre,” he added.