KOZHIKODE: The animal welfare expert team under the Union government began its work to trace the source of Nipah virus infection in Kozhikode. The team members visited the family health centre in Maruthonkara and collected samples by visiting Maruthonkara and nearby areas, where the first death due to the virus was reported this year.
The team will conduct a detailed study and sample collection in all Nipah- affected areas in Kozhikode till September 20. Doctors from the State Institute for Animal Diseases under the animal husbandry department and the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University have joined the team.
At present three central teams – the National Institute of Virology bat survey team, and one each from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – have arrived in the district. The animal welfare expert team attended an online review meeting chaired by Animal Husbandry Minister J Chinchu Rani on Nipah prevention activities in Kozhikode.
The team is also collecting samples from domestic animals, pigs and bats in Nipah-confirmed areas with the help of the forest and local self-government departments.