Medical reports of 1,689 death cases verified, Nipah not detected

Medical reports of 1,689 death cases verified, Nipah not detected

Out of 1,798 deaths that reported in Ernakulam district in May, the medical reports of 1,689 have been verified and confirmed that any one of these was not due to Nipah virus.

A medical team of four groups examined medical reports from all the hospitals including 78 private hospitals from the district and came to this conclusion, sources said here on Thursday.

Out of five who were in the isolation ward, two were discharged after they tested negative to the deadly Nipah.

However, three more new cases were referred to the isolation ward on Wednesday suspecting Nipah infection rising the total number of people in isolation ward to six now.

Out of 330 people under observation, nearly 33 people will be discharged on Thursday as they also tested negative, sources added.

Meanwhile, Health Minister KK Shailaja has said the Government took all the possible measures to bring the Nipah outbreak under control.

According to health department sources, experts from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have collected samples from fruit bats at Thodupuzha in Idukki district and Paravur in Ernakulam district.

The experts also collected samples from the place where the 23-year-old student, who tested positive to the virus, had stayed earlier. Now, his condition is improving having no fever for the last three days.

Efforts were on to ascertain the source Nipah virus in Kerala which experienced the second outbreak in 2019. In its first outbreak in 2018, the State lost the lives of 17 people.

However, an unconfirmed report says that the student contracted the virus after eating guava last month. (UNI)