Kozhikode: With one more Nipah case confirmed on Friday and the total infected cases reaching five in the state, the health department has decided to increase the surveillance across the state.
The health authorities said that a 39-year-old man currently under observation at a private hospital is the latest infected person. The department officials revealed that he had sought treatment at a private hospital where other infected persons had been treated.
Health minister Veena George who met the press said that the latest infected person is stable and is undergoing treatment.
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“The health official who tested positive today is stable and even others who are under treatment are stable as of now. We are tracing the route map of those who tested positive using their phone contacts. We have come to the conclusion that four people who tested positive for Nipah had gotten infected from the first person. All the tests will be conducted in Kozhikode itself and the NIV lab will be operating from here”, said Health Minister Veena George.
Kozhikode continued to reel in the grip of Nipah anxiety with the number of people in the contact list of patients infected by the deadly virus nearing at 950. With 224 more people added on Thursday, the total number of people in the contact list has now reached 950. Of these, 213, including four in private hospitals, have been classified as high-risk. There are 287 health workers on the list. The health department has sent samples of 15 more high-risk contacts for testing.
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The department has decided to conduct testing of all high-risk contacts in the state. Hospitals where Nipah-positive patients are being treated have been directed to constitute a medical board, and hand over a medical report to the department every 12 hours. The medical board will decide the course of treatment of the patients.
The central team that reached in Kozhikode on September 14th held a review meeting with senior officials representing the state government on the day and reviewed the functioning of the labs in the district. The team will visit the affected villages to conduct a scientific study on the source of the virus and the measures to be adopted to contain its spread.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Centre is monitoring the situation and taking necessary steps to prevent the spread.