Nipah scare: Hyderabad hospital asks nurses who are back from Kerala not to report to duty 

Hyderabadis can heave a sigh of relief as no positive Nipah cases have been reported from the city, but can all those nurses who hail from Kerala do so ? 

HYDERABAD: Hyderabadis can heave a sigh of relief as no positive Nipah cases have been reported from the city, but can all those nurses who hail from Kerala do so ? Apparently, hospitals are being extra cautious and nurses who hail from that state are being asked to stay away from work. In one such case, a private hospital in Hitec city has asked around 15 nurses not to report to duty as they just have been to their homes in Kerala.

A nurse in Kerala had recently lost her life after she contracted Nipah virus while treating four members of the same family. Hospital management here, sources say, fear that nurses, who hail from Kerala, could have contracted the virus if they have recently been to their native towns. Sources said that the hospital in question has issued verbal orders in this regard earlier this week. “We were informed that the 15 nurses have been assured paid leave and have been asked not to attend duties,” sources said. 

Two days ago, officials collected two samples from patients here and sent it for tests to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, to find out if they were infected with Nipah virus but the samples tested negative for the virus. Among the nurses working in Hyderabad, six out of every 10 nurses are from Kerala.   “Most of the nurses from Kerala visit their homes in December. Only five per cent choose to go there during the summer,” said Laxman Rudavath, member of Nursing Officers Association. 

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