The Ministry of Health has advised Kerala to implement immediate public health measures
following the detection of a Nipah virus case in Mallapuram district. Measures include active
case search within the boy’s family, neighborhood, and similar topographic areas, contact
tracing, strict quarantine, and isolation protocols.
New Delhi: A multi-member joint outbreak response team will be deployed to Kerala to
assist in investigating the Nipah virus case, identifying epidemiological links, and providing
technical support. According to a Union health ministry statement on Sunday, a 14-year-old
boy from Mallapuram district, who exhibited acute encephalitis syndrome, was admitted to a
healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna and later transferred to a higher center in Kozhikode.
The boy succumbed to the disease, with the National Institute of Virology in Pune confirming
Nipah virus infection.
Fruit bats are the natural reservoirs of the virus, with humans contracting it through the
consumption of bat-contaminated fruits. Previous Nipah outbreaks in Kerala occurred in
Kozhikode, most recently in 2023.
Kerala has been advised to trace contacts of the patient from the past 12 days and enforce
strict quarantine and isolation measures. The health ministry’s ‘One Health’ mission will
deploy a team to support the state’s investigation and technical needs. The Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) had sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management, but they
could not be used due to the boy’s poor condition. A mobile BSL-3 laboratory has also been
dispatched to Kozhikode for testing samples from patient contacts.
