HYDERABAD: With summer holidays coming to a close and Kerala being a prominent tourist destination, city-based doctors warn that potential hosts with a Nipah virus could be coming back to Telangana. It is also important to note that because the initial symptoms of Nipah are similar to a viral fever, patients usually do not head to the doctor until it is too late. Therefore the need of the hour is to put screening mechanisms in place to avoid an outbreak in the State.
Last year, Nipah virus proved to be one of the most alarming epidemics that sent doctors and healthcare personnel in the country into a tizzy. The virus, about which little was known, claimed 17 lives in Kerala, the only and worst-hit State. However, the virus has reared its ugly head in Kerala again where a 23-year-old has been tested positive and over 300 people are currently under observation.
Speaking to Express, Dr H Guruprasad, a consultant physician at a corporate hospital, explains, “While there is a minimal chance that the virus may originate in Telangana, vacationers in States affected by the virus are coming back home.”
Nipah cases have been previously recorded in West Bengal and Malaysia. Dr. Sravan Kumar, HoD (Medicine) at OGH explains, “In Kerala, it is being said that date palm trees that house the fruit bats are the main cause of the infection. When these fruit bats bite into these date palms or any other fruit, one who eats the fruit is exposed to the virus.”