The Health Minister of Kerala, the southern state of India declared that the government is being proactive after the Nipah virus killed a 14-year-old boy and 60 more were discovered to be at high-risk. Nipah is considered a high-priority disease by the World Health Organization because of its fast spread and potential to cause severe brain inflammation. Fruit bats and other animals like pigs are the main hosts of it.
Veena George, Kerala's health minister, revealed that the youngster who died from the illness on Sunday had a heart attack. In response, the government formed 25 committees to identify and isolate affected persons as part of its control measures. Dr. Anoop Kumar of Aster MIMS Hospital reported that one case of Nipah was verified in a school-aged boy, with those who had contact with him being closely monitored.
60 of the 214 individuals identified as the boy's key contacts are considered high-risk. Health facilities in the area have established isolation wards to handle such cases. The boy's family is being closely monitored at a local hospital, and anyone who may be at risk has been asked to stay at home and look after themselves.
Since its first occurrence in the year 2018, there have been subsequent instances of the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala causing more loses of lives. The virus was first identified in Malaysia 25 years ago, and the disease has since struck Bangladesh, India and Singapore. The Kerala government is actively identifying people who are infected and providing them medical attention to prevent the disease from spreading.
