A young man is suspected to have Nipah virus after he got admitted to a private hospital in Ernakulam. The young man belongs to Ernakulam and is studying in Idukki. He travelled to Thirssur with his fellow students on an internship programme. When he came back home, he was already suffering from fever. And when the fever seemed to get worse he was admitted in a hospital in Kochi.
Responding to the issue, the Health Minister of Kerala said, “A young man was admitted to a private hospital in Kochi. The government had intervened and sent the sample to NIV in Alleppey and NIV in Pune. NIV Alleppey said that this was suspected to be Nipah, but we cannot be fully sure. We are awaiting results from Pune too.”
Thrissur District Medical Officer Dr. KJ Reena said, “The student came to Thrissur on May 21st. He had fever while he came here. After two days we consulted doctors in two private hospitals in Thrissur. The infection is only in his head right now, it has not been passed to his respiratory system. An Isolation wing has been readied in Thrissur Medical College too.”
The virus Nipah is one of the deadliest viruses. The virus took 17 lives when it first broke in May last year in Keral, including a 31 year old nurse who was treating Mohammod Sadiq in Perambra which further got him infected with Nipah.