Nipah death count grows in India, as fears rise
Print Edition
The death toll from an outbreak of the rare Nipah virus in southern India jumped to 10 yesterday with more than 90 people quarantined to try to stem the spread, officials said.
With tests from other suspect deaths awaited, authorities in Kerala state have ordered emergency measures to control the virus, which is spread by fruit bats.
Three of the fatalities are members of the same family. A nurse who treated one of the family has also died, leaving a heart-wrenching note for her family.
“We sent 18 samples for testing. Out of these 12 tested positive. Ten of those who tested positive have died and the remaining two are undergoing treatment,” said a health official in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, the center of the outbreak.
Ninety-four people who have come into contact with those who died have been isolated in their homes.
Nipah has killed more than 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India since 1998.
Nipah has a mortality rate of nearly 70 percent, according to the World Health Organization.
Global epidemic risk
There is no vaccination for the virus which induces flu-like symptoms that lead to an agonizing encephalitis and coma.
WHO has named Nipah as one of eight priority diseases that could cause a global epidemic, alongside the likes of Ebola and Zika.
Among the dead in the Kerala outbreak was nursing assistant and mother-of-two Lini Puthussery.
She had helped to treat one of the original families suffering from Nipah.
Puthussery died on Monday and was cremated before her family members could bid her a final goodbye because of fears the virus could spread.
In a final note she scribbled in a hospital isolation unit, she urged her husband to take care of the children.
“I don’t think I will be able to see you again. Sorry. Please take care of our children,” she said.
Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Puthussery’s “selfless service will be remembered.”
Health authorities across the state were on high alert, setting up medical camps and a control room to tackle the emerging situation.
They have urged residents to take precautions including avoiding eating fruit fallen on the ground and drinking raw date palm sap.
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