Thiruvananthapuram, September 29: Samples collected from bats near Kozhikode from where a 12-year-old boy succumbed to death early this month has shown the presence of Nipah antibodies, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. George said the results of the samples collected form bats from the area where the boy lived have shown the presence of antibodies of Nipah.

"Antibodies have been found in two different varieties of bats, whose samples were collected from the vicinity of the boy's house. The samples were tested at the National Institute of Virology, Pune. The ICMR is conducting more studies on it and they will be informing us," said George. The NIV team had collected numerous samples from the area and more reports are expected in the coming days. Scientists Find Three New Viruses in Bats in Laos Similar to SARS-CoV-2.

The 12-year-old boy died on September 5 after receiving treatment for a few weeks at a few hospitals in Kozhikode and it was only at the later stage, tests proved that the boy was suffering from Nipah virus attack. More studies will now be conducted on how the boy got the virus attack.

Various teams, from the Centre and the state had arrived at Kozhikode as soon as Nipah was reported and numerous samples were also collected.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2021 05:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).