Bats behind latest Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode? Detection of antibodies strengthens link

The Nipah infection resurfaced in the state when Muhammed Hasheem, a 12-year-old boy of Pazhoor village in Chathamangalam panchayat, tested positive and later succumbed to the infection on September 5
A man passes by the Nipah triage area at the Kozhikode MCH | T P Sooraj 
A man passes by the Nipah triage area at the Kozhikode MCH | T P Sooraj 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Almost a month after the Nipah virus was detected in a boy in Kozhikode, an investigation of the samples of bats collected from the region detected the presence of antibodies. The study conducted by the National Institute of Virology in Pune is significant as it could give an epidemiological link for the transmission between a zoonotic virus and humans.

The Nipah infection resurfaced in the state when Muhammed Hasheem, a 12-year-old boy of Pazhoor village in Chathamangalam panchayat, tested positive and later succumbed to the infection on September 5.

The detection of antibodies in bats has strengthened the health department’s assumption that the boy would have received the infection from them.

“NIV has conveyed the presence of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in samples. We can assume that bats are the main carriers of the virus,” said health minister Veena George.

“More studies are underway with more samples at NIV and also by ICMR. There is a need to discuss the findings with other departments,” she added.

Earlier samples collected from other domestic animals in the victim’s house turned negative. It is the third outbreak of Nipah in the state and only Hasheem was detected with the infection. All the 274 people in his contact list turned negative in the tests conducted at Kozhikode Medical College and NIV.

What is Nipah?

Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus, which means it can be transmitted from animals to humans. It can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. NiV infection is considered as an emerging infectious disease threat by the World Health Organization (WHO).

What happened in 2018?

The Nipah outbreak was reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala in May 2018. The outbreak began in Perambra in Kozhikode and later spread to the adjoining Malappuram. 21 out of 23 people found to be infected died. That means a case fatality rate of 92 per cent. Officially only 18 deaths were reported.

Those who died include nurse Lini Puthussery who attended to an infected person at EMS Memorial Cooperative hospital in Kozhikode’s Perambra. The outbreak was contained and declared over on 10 June 2018. It was followed by detection of the virus in 2019 in Ernakulam. But no death was reported.

The earlier outbreaks in India were in 2001 and 2007 in West Bengal.

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