HYDERABAD: The two suspected cases of Nipah virus infection tested negative after their blood samples and throat swabs were examined in the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, a senior government official said today.
The Telangana government earlier today said it has sent blood samples and throat swabs of two patients suffering from fever to the NIV for tests for the Nipah virus infection.
"Both the cases tested negative. They are normal and there is nothing to panic," the Director of Medical Education Ramesh Reddy told PTI.
Reddy had said one of the patients recently visited Kerala, but not Kozhikode where the disease is prevalent and that the other never went to Kerala recently.
The patient who reportedly visited Kerala was first admitted to a private hospital with fever and later shifted to Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases, also known as Fever Hospital, while the other patient is undergoing treatment at Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, he had said.
In Kerala, the Nipah virus has so far claimed 11 lives and the state government has stepped up efforts to contain the outbreak.
A Union Health Ministry advisory has said that the virus, which commonly affects animals such as bats, pigs, dogs, and horses, can spread to humans, causing serious illness.
Spread of the virus to humans may occur after close contact with other Nipah infected people, infected bats, or infected pigs.