MANGALURU: A 25-year-old man working with a Goa-based company that manufactures Nipah and Covid test kits has been isolated at District Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru after he expressed strong suspicion of having contracted Nipah virus.
His blood, urine and nasal swab samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for testing.
However, the health authorities maintained that there is nothing to worry as the isolated man is not a 'nipah suspect', does not have any symptoms of the disease and all his vital parameters are stable.
“He is perfectly alright. We have sent his samples for testing just to make sure that everything is alright and not to take any chance,” Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra told reporters in an emergency press meet convened on Monday here.
He said the man traveled from Goa to hometown Karwar in a two-wheeler on September 8. During long journey, he got drenched in rain and as a result he got severe headache and fever. This panicked him and he googled to learn the symptoms of Nipah which only led to his heart beat severely. Then he approached a hospital in Karwar which referred him to a private hospital in Udupi. From there he was shifted to Mangaluru hospital in an ambulance.
His father has been isolated and the authorities in Udupi and Karwar have been asked to identify his contacts and isolate them.
The DC said that the man was handling nipah and covid kits in the company by adhering to all covid SoPs.