Kozhikode: Test results of 61 people who had come in close contact with the 12-year-old child who succumbed to Nipah have been negative, till now, for the virus infection, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday.
In a press release, the minister said samples of 15 more persons in the contact list came back negative, taking the total number of people who are in the clear to 61. She also said more samples would be tested during the day and that at present 64 persons were under observation at the Kozhikode Medical College and their health was stable. As of Wednesday evening the total number of people who tested negative was 46.
In Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has advised the officials to be cautious against the Nipah virus and to take more precautions to prevent the outbreak of the virus in the state.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, Bommai said that the officials have been advised to take precautionary measures in the wake of Nipah virus cases reported in Kerala.
“The health department secretaries and a panel of experts have been instructed to take early measures,” he stated.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govinda Karajola, ministers V Somanna and CC Patil and MP Shivakumar Udasi were also present with the chief minister.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Karnataka government issued an advisory to prevent the outbreak of infection in the state and instructed the district administrations to monitor the arrivals from Kerala for symptoms like fever, altered mental status, severe weakness, headache, respiratory distress, cough, vomiting, muscle pain, convulsion and diarrhoea.
It also instructed the authorities to spread public awareness in this regard and develop a systematic surveillance system to identify clusters of encephalitis cases for early detection of Nipah outbreaks.
