The Kerala Health Department has issued a health alert in Kozhikode district. The alert came after two deaths were suspected to be caused by the Nipah virus infection, which was described as ‘unnatural’. Health officials said that they suspected the Nipah virus infection may be the cause of these deaths. According to reports, the two deaths occurred at a private hospital in Kozhikode. Reports added that even a relative of one of the deceased is currently in the intensive care unit of a hospital. The test results for this patient are expected to be available on Wednesday.
#Nipah #NipahAlert #Kozhikode #Kerala #KeralaHealthDepartment
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#Nipah #NipahAlert #Kozhikode #Kerala #KeralaHealthDepartment
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NewsTranscript
00:00 The Kerala Health Department has issued a health alert in Kozhikode district of the
00:05 state.
00:06 The alert came after two deaths were suspected to be caused by the Nipah virus infection,
00:11 which was described as unnatural.
00:13 Health officials said that they suspected the Nipah virus infection may be the cause
00:17 of these deaths.
00:18 According to reports, the two deaths occurred at a private hospital in Kozhikode.
00:24 Reports added that even a relative of one of the deceased is currently in the intensive
00:28 care unit of a hospital.
00:30 The test results for this patient are yet to be available on Wednesday.
00:35 A high-level meeting was chaired by state health minister Veena George to review the
00:39 situation.
00:40 The health department issued a statement on Monday night.
00:43 It said that two unnatural deaths following fever were reported from a private hospital
00:48 and it is suspected that these were due to the Nipah virus.
00:51 Kozhikode has experienced two previous Nipah virus outbreaks, one in 2018 and another in
00:57 2021.
00:58 During the first outbreak in 2018, a total of 23 cases were identified, with 17 people
01:04 succumbing to the zoonotic virus.
01:07 Nipah virus infection can manifest in various ways ranging from asymptomatic cases to acute
01:13 respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis among those infected.
01:18 As per the World Health Organization (WHO), Nipah virus infection is categorised as a
01:23 zoonotic disease.
01:25 That means that it can be transmitted from animals to humans.
01:28 Additionally, it can spread through contaminated food or through direct person-to-person contact.
01:34 WHO informed that the virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting
01:39 in significant economic losses for farmers.
01:43 According to experts, Nipah is a paramyxovirus.
01:47 Paramyxoviridae is a family of single-stranded RNA viruses known to cause different types
01:52 of infections in vertebrates.
01:54 Experts said that Nipah is related to a human virus, human parainfluenza virus, which is
01:59 one of the handful of viruses that can cause common cold.
02:03 Its natural host is the fruit bat, the large and small flying foxes, which are distributed
02:08 across South and Southeast Asia.
02:11 According to reports, all cases of human infection with the Nipah virus to date have been due
02:16 to direct or indirect contact with infected bats.
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