The Nipah virus has deepened the health crisis in Kerala as the state battles coronavirus. (Representative)
Kozhikode:
a day later 12 year old child dies In the case of Nipah virus in Kerala’s Kozhikode, the district health and animal husbandry department officials collected swab samples from a goat reared by the family, which came in contact with the child, to trace the source of the infectious disease.
District health and forest officials today visited the boy’s house at Pazhoor in Chathamangalam gram panchayat and collected swab samples from the goat reared by the family, which has also died.
Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry KK Baby said officials have also collected samples of Rambutan from the area.
“It is a joint effort of the Health and Forest Department and they have collected the samples of Rambutan fruits bitten by the bats,” the official said, adding that the samples of fruit bats in the area would be tested for Nipah virus.
“Whatever samples we have collected, we will send it to the RDDL laboratory in Kannur and the State Animal Inspection Diseases (SIAD), Thiruvananthapuram for testing. If further tests are required, we will send it to the National Institute of Higher Education,” he said. .Safety Animal Disease Laboratory.”
This is the third time in the last three years that a case of the deadly disease has been reported in the state. In 2018, the virus had claimed 17 lives in Kozhikode district, plunging the state into a major health crisis. However, it was brought under control within 1.5 months due to excessive contact tracing and a state of emergency declared in Kerala.
There have been reports of wild boar and boar attacks in the area and officials are keeping an eye on these animals.
Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer Dr. Arun Satyan said, “We are monitoring the presence of pigs in this area. Simultaneously, we are also looking for fruit bats. Once it is confirmed that a large number of There are fruit bats. In the field, then we will inform the central team and they will follow the necessary procedure to catch them.”
“The Nipah outbreak was first reported in Malaysia. According to reports, it was found that the virus is transmitted from domestic animals. Furthermore, the data suggests that the source of infection is fruit bats,” he said.
On measures to capture the pigs, Dr. Satyan said, “At present, we have data of all the pigs that we have caught in the last one year. So we have an idea of the numbers in this area.”
“I request people not to eat fruits that have fallen on the ground,” he said. Baby said that a half-cut rambutan or any other fruit is an indication of the presence of fruit bats in the region.
As Kerala grapples with COVID-19, with over 25,000 cases being reported every day, the new case of Nipah virus has deepened the health crisis in the state.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
.