Apprehensions over the Nipah infection in Kozhikode district of Kerala seem to be slowly subsiding as no fresh cases have been reported in two days.
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Health Minister Veena George told the media on Sunday that the lab results of 42 more body fluid samples of suspected patients had turned negative for the virus. The results were made available late on Saturday night. All these people are in the high-risk category of contact with the infected persons.
Clinically stable
“Also, the ventilator support of the nine-year-old child [son of the first patient, E. Mohammedali] has been temporarily removed. He is on oxygen support, but clinically stable, according to doctors,” she said. The Minister pointed out that all the four infected persons under treatment had been responding well to medicines. “The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has already provided monoclonal antibodies for treatment that are up to 70% effective. The ICMR has informed that more doses will be sent,” Ms. George said.
The contact list of infected persons now has 1,233 names, with 352 in the high-risk category, of whom 129 are health-care workers. As many as 23 persons, including one infected person, are under medical isolation at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. Thirty-six body fluid samples of fruit-eating bats have been collected from the affected areas for lab tests and sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune. This is to identify virus presence in their bodies.
Meanwhile, a Central team of officials continued their field visit in Kozhikode district.
