24-hour control room with a call centre opened at Malappuram: Health Minister Veena George
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday
confirmed Nipah infection in a 14-year-old boy from Malappuram district.
George,
who addressed the media here, said the Pune NIV (National Institute of
Virology) had confirmed the infection in the boy, who is currently under
treatment at a private hospital.
“He will be
shifted to the government medical college at Kozhikode. The contact tracing has
begun. High-risk contacts have already been isolated and their samples have
been sent for testing,” George said.
The child is under treatment and is on a ventilator,
George added.
Minister said the epicentre was Pandikkad in the district and that
precautionary measures have already been initiated.
She
asked the people in the locality of the epicentre and the nearby hospitals to
wear masks in public spaces and avoid visiting patients in hospitals.
The
minister said the monoclonal antibody which was procured last time from
Australia and stored at Pune NIV will reach the state on Sunday.
The Health Department has also set up 30 isolation rooms and a six-bed ICU at
the Manjeri medical college and have isolated all those who have come into
contact with the infected boy.
“A 3
km radius from the epicentre at Pandikkad will be strictly observed and
restrictions will be imposed,” she said.
The
Health Department said the child had sought treatment at a private clinic on
May 12. He was admitted to the same private hospital on May 15 but was later
shifted to the private hospital at Perinthalmanna. From there he was shifted to
the private hospital at Kozhikode.
A 24-hour control room with a call centre has been opened at Malappuram, the
minister, who is camping at the district coordinating the preventive measures,
said.
The
Health Department was on Friday informed about suspected Nipah infection from
the private hospital at Kozhikode.
The
department sprang into action and tested the samples at the laboratories in
Kerala and also sent them to the virology institute at Pune.
Earlier in the day, George had said that the tests from the state’s lab had
returned positive but the confirmation could be given only from the Pune NIV
lab.
However,
even before the test result from Pune NIV was received, the state government
had initiated precautionary measures as per the Nipah protocols including
isolating the close contacts, tracing the route map among others.
The
Minister also informed that the Pune NIV will be providing a mobile lab similar
to the one which was provided during the previous incident of the infection.
The
state government had announced recently that a special action calendar was
being prepared for the prevention of a Nipah outbreak, which has haunted the
state on four occasions in the past.
Nipah
outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and
in Ernakulam district in 2019, and the presence of Nipah virus antibodies had
been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam
districts.
No comments:
Post a Comment