Nipah Virus Spreads to Karnataka? Two Suspected Cases Identified in Mangaluru; Reports of Blood Samples on Thursday
After an outbreak of brain-damaging Nipah Virus (NiV) in Kerala, now two Nipah suspect cases were identified from Mangaluru
Magaluru, May 23: After an outbreak of brain-damaging Nipah Virus (NiV) in Kerala, now two Nipah suspect cases were identified from Mangaluru, Karnataka. Blood samples of the suspects were sent for tests.
Rajesh BV, a district surveillance officer told Reuters over the phone that symptoms of the virus were seen in a 20-year old woman and a 75-year-old man in Mangalore after they travelled to Kerala and came into contact with infected patients there. According to Rajesh, both the patients have not been confirmed with the virus yet. Rajesh further said that the blood samples of the two people have been sent to Manipal Centre for Virus Research and results are awaited by Thursday. Till now the virus has taken lives of 10 people in Kerala.
The first outbreak of the disease was seen in Malaysia between September 1998 and May 1999. No vaccine has been discovered for the treatment of persons affected with the virus. The outbreak of the virus had taken place in India twice before it hit Kerala this year. Siliguri and Nadia in West Bengal had seen NiV contagion in 2001 and 2007 respectively.
NiV was spread to humans either directly through the bats or indirectly through a material, like water and fruits, contaminated by the bats. Preventing the spread of the virus is of utmost importance in containing the disease.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2018 09:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).