Nipah scare in Kochi

Kochi, June 3 

The Kerala government today said a college student in Kochi is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

Health Minister KK Shailaja said a list of 86 persons who had interacted with the student had been prepared and they were under medical observation. The Kerala health department has initiated precautionary measures to deal with the possible outbreak of Nipah virus.

Shailaja said in Thiruvananthapuram the 23-year-old college student, who has been admitted to a private hospital in Kochi, is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

She said isolation wards had been set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital in Kochi. The minister rushed to Kochi after briefing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about the development.

She chaired a high-level meeting with top health officials and people’s representatives to review the situation. Addressing the media after the meeting, she said the samples were sent to the State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases in Alappuzha for examination and it was found that the student was infected with a virus having similarities with Nipah. — PTI