Containment zone in 7 Village of Kerala as 2 people die due to Nipah Virus

The Kozhikode district administration on 13th September 2023 notified 7 villages in the district as a containment zone after the outbreak of fresh Nipah virus case in the  district . The action of the state administration comes after Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a facebook post on 12 September 2023 confirmed the death of two people in  Kozhikode district due to Nipah Virus. He also confirmed that two people have also been tested positive.

The central government has sent a team from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune,to set up a mobile lab at Kozhikode Medical College to conduct tests on the virus and a survey of the bats.

Containment zones in Kozhikode 

The state administration has seven village panchayats of the Kozhikode district Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli and Kavilumpara  as containment zones to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus .No person will be allowed to travel in and out of 43 wards of the seven village panchayats declared as containment zones until further notice.

Nipah Virus cases in Kerala 

The first-ever Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala was reported from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in 2018. Another outbreak was reported in the Kozhikode district in 2021.

Nipah Virus 

Nipah Virus is a Zoonotic virus .Zoonotic virus spreads from animals to humans. It can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.

Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999. Nipah virus has also been reported from Bangladesh and India.

Natural host of the Virus 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae – particularly species belonging to the Pteropus genus – are the natural hosts for Nipah virus.

Transmission of the Virus 

According to the WHO;

• In Malaysia the transmission of the virus to humans was due to the direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues.
• In Bangladesh and India the transmission was due to the  consumption of fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats 
• During the later outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, Nipah virus spread directly from human-to-human through close contact with people's secretions and excretions. 

Sign and symptom of the disease

Infected people initially develop symptoms including fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat. This can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis. 

The incubation period (interval from infection to the onset of symptoms) is believed to range from 4 to 14 days. However, an incubation period as long as 45 days has been reported.

Treatment of Nipah Virus infected patient

Currently no drugs or vaccines specific for Nipah virus infection have been developed in the world . 40% to 75% of the people infected by Nipah Virus die.