After confirming two deaths due to the rare Nipah virus, the Kerala government has restricted travel in and out of seven panchayat villages that have been declared as containment zones. Neighbouring states Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have initiated precautionary measures in border districts including checking for any cases reported with symptoms similar to Nipah virus.
Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara have been declared as containment zones. The police have been asked to cordon off these areas and only stores selling essential commodities and medical supplies will be allowed to function. Banks, other government or quasi-government institutions, educational institutions, and anganwadis are not allowed to operate in these regions.
Nipah virus - Bangladesh variant
State Health Minister Veena George said in the Kerala assembly that the virus strain seen in the state was the Bangladesh variant that spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious.
This is the fourth Nipah outbreak in Kerala since 2018. Teams from National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune would arrive in Kerala during the day to set up a mobile lab at Kozhikode Medical College to test for Nipah and carry out survey of bats.
Kerala initiates precautionary measures
The public has been advised to use online services and avoid going to local self-government institutions in the aforementioned affected areas. People have been advised to maintain social distancing and use masks and sanitizer in the containment zones.
Buses or vehicles plying on national highways through the containment zones should not be stopped in the affected areas, Health Minister Veena George instructed. Stores selling essential goods will be allowed to function from 7 am to 5 pm. No time bar has been given for pharmacies and health centres. Local self-government institutions and village offices can function with minimum staff.
To protect children from getting infected, Education Minister V Sivankutty has directed schools to opt for online exams.
Surveillance, contact tracing, categorising public into low and high risk, setting up isolation facilities for them, demarcating containment zones and procuring medicines from ICMR for those infected: are some measures the government has initiated.
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
Health teams will be deployed round-the-clock in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Theni, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts, bordering Kerala, T.S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public and Preventive Medicine announced.
The teams are tasked with screening all symptomatic fever cases at the borders. The deputy directors of health services have also been told to alert government and private hospitals over possible Acute Encephalitis Syndrome cases.
According to a report by The New Indian Express, officials in the health department in Karnataka said that action plan will not just be limited to bordering districts, but for the entire state, especially transit points. The state will hold a video conference today with deputy commissioners and health officials of the districts bordering Kerala including Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru and Dakshina Kannada, to decide on further measures that need to be taken.
