In 2019, when Nipah surfaced in the State for a second consecutive year, experts had warned that given the omnipresence of the Pteropus medius species of bats, found to be the key reservoirs of Nipah virus (NiV) across the State, Kerala should probably expect annual outbreaks of Nipah, and not necessarily in the same location or with the same symptom profile.
As the State battles its fourth brush with Nipah, despite the expertise in launching a formidable outbreak containment effort when the virus surfaces, the State has failed to invest in disease epidemiology which is crucial in understanding and preparing for this zoonotic infection with high case fatality.
