Giving a major relief to Kerala, four people who were under treatment for Nipah in Kozhikode have recovered from the deadly virus. However, the source of infection of the index case remains elusive thus far as tested samples of fruit bats did not show presence of the virus in their body. Sharing the “happy news”, state Health Minister Veena George said four Nipah patients have tested negative. “Two repeated tests conducted on the four patients at intervals have turned out to be negative. Those who survived include a nine-year-old boy, who had been on ventilator support,” she said. Kerala has had four Nipah outbreaks since 2018. In earlier incidents, only two positive patients had survived; one in Kozhikode in 2018 and another in Kochi in 2019. With this year's four cured cases, the number of surviving Nipah cases in the state has gone up to six. In 2018, 17 out of 18 infected persons and one in 2021 had died. In 2023, two Nipah deaths were reported. On September 12 this year, Kozhikode reported the Nipah virus for the third time since 2018. This time, six cases were confirmed and two of them, including the index case, died by the time the virus was diagnosed. Of the six cases, five had got infected from the index case, a 47-year-old person who died on August 30. The second victim died on September 11. Of the four surviving cases, two were from the family of the index case. The other two positive cases had also got infected from the index case. Aster MIMS Hospital in Kozhikode, where the nine-year-old boy was treated, on Friday said it was the first time in the world that a Nipah infected person returned to life from ventilator support. A 25-year-old youth was also treated at ASTER MIMS. Aster MIMS Kerala Director (Critical Care) Dr A S Anoopkumar, who was instrumental in diagnosing the infection, said: “This is the first time in the world that a Nipah patient returned to life from the ventilator support system. He was first tested negative on Wednesday. The second test on Thursday also turned out to be negative. They will be discharged today, but have to remain in home quarantine for the next two weeks,” he said. Following the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode, the health department had taken several steps to prevent further spread. Nine panchayats in the eastern part of the district and a portion of the Kozhikode municipal corporation had been declared a containment zone for over a week. Around 1,300 persons had been put under observation. The government had declared a holiday for all educational institutions in the district for the last one week.
