The Health department has formed 16 core teams to monitor the surveillance and containment steps being taken in Kozhikode district where two persons have died due to Nipah infection in recent days. Two others too tested positive for the virus.
Health Minister Veena George told the media late on Tuesday that an alert has been sounded in Kozhikode district and it will be extended to nearby districts too.
The department declared the alert in Kozhikode after two persons died of suspected Nipah symptoms on August 30 and September 11. However, body fluid samples of the first person who died could not be sent for laboratory tests. Doctors at a private hospital in the city raised an alarm about possible Nipah infection after one more person who was in contact with the first patient died and the first patient’s relatives sought treatment with similar symptoms. One of the deceased is from Maruthonkara, while the other is from Ayancheri.
