Nipah outbreak | Number of cases rises to six in Kozhikode

The contact list of the people infected with Nipah virus has gone up to 1,080 now. Among them 624 are in the high-risk category of which 327 are healthcare workers.

Health official in full protective gear at an Nipah isolation ward of Government Medical College, Kozhikode. | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat

One more person tested positive for the Nipah infection in Kozhikode district of Kerala on Friday, taking the total number of infected persons to six now.

Meanwhile, lab tests have proved that E. Mohammedali, the first patient who died on August 30, too was infected with Nipah. His body fluid samples could not be sent earlier. However, the throat swab stored at a private hospital where he had been admitted was later recovered and sent. The results were made available on Friday. The spread of the infection is reported to have happened at this private hospital. Thirty samples of healthcare workers here have tested negative for the virus. So far, 100 samples have been sent for lab tests.

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A Central team of officials visited Kallad near Kuttiadi where the first patient, Mohammedali’s house is located. They inspected his house along with the house of one of his relatives, and the farms in the backyard where he is suspected to have gone. They also checked the fruit plants on the premises. They sought to know the details of his job and other details from the family members. Officials from the State Health department and the health officials from the local bodies accompanied the team.

Condition stable

Health Minister Veena George earlier said that the condition of the 39-year-old Cheruvannur native, who tested positive for the virus on Friday morning, was stable. He had contact with Mohammedali when the latter was undergoing treatment there. He had gone to the hospital as a caregiver to someone else.

The infected people include Mohammadali, 47, of Maruthonkara who died on August 30 and M. Haris, 40, of Ayancheri, who died on September 11. Mohammedali’s nine-year-old son, his 24-year-old brother-in-law and a 24-year-old healthcare worker are the others who are already under treatment. The contact list of the infected persons has gone up to 1,080 now. Among them 624 are in the high-risk category of which 327 are healthcare workers.