Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Kerala has crossed a key stage in containing its lone Nipah case, with all people on the patient’s contact list safely completing the prescribed quarantine period, Health Minister K Muraleedharan said on Tuesday. Calling it a “major milestone”, he said early detection, accurate contact tracing and strict surveillance had helped prevent the virus from spreading.
The minister said the state managed to control the situation without imposing measures such as containment zones that disrupt people’s movement and livelihoods. He added that the affected area can be declared Nipah-free after the mandatory 42-day observation period is completed, while surveillance will continue as per protocol.
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Muraleedharan said the patient remains on ventilator support at Government Medical College, Kozhikode. The patient’s last two samples, collected over the past week, tested negative, and further treatment will be decided by a medical board, he said.
Four people in the very high-risk category – two family members of the patient and two healthcare workers – were released from quarantine on Tuesday after completing 21 days of observation without developing symptoms. The minister said all 58 samples collected from people with Nipah-like symptoms in the district since June 10 had tested negative.
Three people in the high-risk category and 24 in the low-risk category were also released from observation on Tuesday. With this, all people in the very high-risk and high-risk categories have completed quarantine, and only three people in the low-risk category remain under surveillance, he said.
The minister commended the district administration and health workers involved in the containment effort. Nipah is a zoonotic virus that can spread from animals to humans and, in some cases, between humans. Fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, are the natural reservoir of the virus. The infection can cause severe respiratory illness and encephalitis, and has a high fatality rate.
Muraleedharan also said eight fresh Shigella cases were reported in the state on Tuesday, with two cases each from Kollam, Kannur and Palakkad, and one each from Thrissur and Malappuram. A total of 205 Shigella cases and six deaths were reported in Kerala during June, taking the total number of infections this year to 281, he said.
The highest number of cases in June was reported from Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad. Shigella is a highly contagious bacterial infection that mainly spreads through contaminated food, water or poor hygiene and causes diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps.
Outbreaks have been declared in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Thrissur and Alappuzha districts, while infections have also been reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Idukki, among other districts.
In sum, Kerala’s Nipah response has reached an important point, with all close contacts completing quarantine and only three low-risk contacts still under surveillance, even as the lone patient remains on ventilator support. At the same time, the state continues to monitor a wider spread of Shigella infections across several districts.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
