Schools, shops and streets have been closed in at least seven villages in Kozhikode districtin the state of Kerala, with the intention of containing the Nipah virus, which has already caused the death of two people.
The actions being taken by the region’s Ministry of Health take us back to March 2020, when the first containment closures of the new arriving virus were being published, Covid-19 or Coronavirus, with prevention, self-care and collective care measures.
(Also read: Everything you need to know about the deadly virus that worries India: what is it about?).
“Both epicenters and a 5-km radius in nearby areas have been declared as containment zone,” says Veena George, Kerala’s health minister.
Around 800 people have been tested. According to Veena George, Kerala’s health minister, contacts are being identified and isolated. “Two epicenters of contagion have been named in Kozhikode district. “Both epicenters and a 5-kilometre radius in nearby areas have been declared as a containment zone,” George said in a parliamentary session.
This alert brings with it challenges for traders, who must isolate themselves again and close their businesses in nearby districts. The concern of this virus, which It has a mortality rate of 70% according to the World Health Organizationwhich called an emergency meeting in the government on Wednesday, September 13.
At this meeting, it was agreed to increase Kozhikode’s response capacity by installing mobile units to strengthen the capacity of medical centers in the area and mobilizing experts to collect fluid samples from bats and fruit treesthese elements are considered the main carriers of the virus.
“We are doing tests on human beings and, at the same time, experts are collecting samples of fluids from forested areas that could be the hot spot for the spread,” explains the minister.
On Thursday, September 14, local media confirmed the guidelines that the Karnataka government issued to avoid infections. The Hindustan Times explains that intensified surveillance has been requested in the state’s border districts such as Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Chamrajanagara and Mysuru, and the public is advised to avoid unnecessary trips to Kerala.
In the Ministry of Health circular it is said that “andIn view of the notification of 4 confirmed cases of Nipah with 2 deaths in Kozhikode district of Kerala state, there is a need to intensify surveillance activities in the districts bordering Kerala state to prevent transmission of the infection.”
Among the instructions given to health officials are: establish checkpoint for surveillance of fever at the border entrances from Karnataka to Kerala, train all health personnel including primary health care centers, reserve at least two beds in district hospitals to quarantine patients suspected of having Nipah and raise public awareness about the disease to avoid unnecessary panic.
What is the threat of Nipah virus?
The transmission of this disease is generated by contact with contaminated animal secretions which reach the respiratory tract or through the body fluids of an infected person, such as saliva and blood, creating an infection. According to information from the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus is spread through contact with fluids from bats, pigs or infected people.
The symptoms are high fever, vomiting and respiratory infection.Severe cases can be characterized by seizures and brain swelling leading to coma. According to WHO, the first Nipah epidemic was recorded in 1998 after the virus spread among pig farmers in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia.
Although epidemics of this virus are rare, the WHO classified it, along with the Ebola, Zika and covid-19as one of the diseases to be investigated as a priority due to its potential to cause a pandemic.
In June 2018, the first outbreak of this virus was detected in the state of Kerala. This year, 17 deaths were recorded, precisely in the Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts of Kerala.
This is the fourth outbreak in five years in the town and there is still no vaccine against the virus. Patients have a mortality rate of between 40% and 75%.
It should be mentioned that the first epidemic of the disease left 100 dead in Malaysia and in Singapore, where the virus spread, 11 cases and one death were recorded among workers who had contact with imported animals.
Since that moment, the virus has been detected in Blandadesh, the country most affected with 100 deaths since 2001.
The virus belongs to the family of diseases known as henipaviruses. It is transmitted to livestock and humans.
What is Nipah?
According to the World Health Organization, the Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, that is, it isIt is transmitted mainly from animals to people. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms begin with fevers and headache, commonly accompanied by respiratory illnesses such as cough or sore throat.
If the infection worsens it can cause disorientation, seizures and encephalitis which can put patients in a coma.
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