A field lab assistant holds up a bat after catching it in a net to collect specimens for Nipah virus research.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Even as no fresh Nipah cases were confirmed in Kerala till Monday evening, the Nipah scare has spread to other districts as people in the contact list of the 14 year-old boy who died on Sunday were found to have travelled to Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad districts.
Health Minister Veena George said out of the 13 samples subjected to testing on Monday, results of nine that came by evening were negative.
She said that the Nipah variant found on the boy was the same as the variant found in the state last year. The boy was suspected to have got the infection after consuming mombin fruit. There was presence of bats in the area from where the boy had it.
Earlier, researches with ICMR's support confirmed that the same variant of Nipah virus was present in human beings and bats in Kerala. Now, efforts are being made to find the presence of virus in fruits. It was not yet possible anywhere in the world, the minister added.
So far, around 406 persons were found to be in the boy's contact list, of which 194 are in the high-risk category. As many as 134 health workers are also in the contact list. Around 15 of them are in hospital.
Among those in the contact list, four persons were now in Thiruvananthapuram and two in Palakkad.
As many as 224 teams of health workers are carrying out home visits in all the houses in Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats of Malappuram district, the native place of the deceased boy. People are also advised to wear masks.
Expert teams from ICMR and NIV, Pune have reached the state for joining the surveillance measures.