Nipah virus outbreak: Karnataka says 'closely monitoring' people arriving from Kerala

New Delhi: A detailed advisory on precautions to be taken against the Nipah virus was issued by the Karnataka Health Commissioner Dr KV Trilok Chandra on Sunday (September 12, 2021). While issuing the advisory Karnataka Health Commissioner said that the people who are coming from Kerala will be kept under surveillance.

"We have already issued a detailed advisory on precautions to be taken against the Nipah virus. Advanced surveillance measures are already in place at all border districts. People coming from Kerala will be under surveillance," he said. 

Earlier, on September 7, the state government issued an advisory to prevent the outbreak of the infection of the Nipah virus in Karnataka and the health department instructs the district administrations to monitor the arrivals from Kerala for symptoms like fever, altered mental status, severe weakness, headache, respiratory distress, cough, vomiting, muscle pain, convulsion and diarrhoea.

In the advisory issued earlier, the Karnataka government, stating that Human Nipah Virus (NiV) infection is an emerging zoonotic disease, had said that in India, two outbreaks in humans were reported from West Bengal and neighboring Bangladesh in 2001 and 2007.

Further, confirmed cases and deaths were also reported from Kerala during the outbreak in 2018. The health department also added that this virus can also be transmitted from person to person and through contaminated food.

(With Agency inputs)

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