KOZHIKODE: No presence of Nipah virus has been found in samples collected from three fruit bats caught in the district. Following this, the Animal Husbandry Department has decided to temporarily suspend efforts to catch more fruit bats for testing, said director Dr N N Sasi. “However, all animals in the district will be under surveillance,” he said.
The samples were collected from the first victim’s house. The tests were conducted at the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal. Sasi said a meeting will be convened by the CM in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday to decide on the future course of action. He said if any symptoms emerged, the bats would be caught for testing.
G Arunkumar, head of the Department of Virus Research, Manipal University, said though the virus’ presence could be traced in only five or six fruit bats out of one lakh bats, their role in the outbreak could not be ruled out. “It was proven worldwide the fruit bats are behind the outbreak,” he said.