Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr. Rajendra K. V. appealed to people to be cautious. A high alert has been sounded in the Dakshina Kannada district in the wake of Nipah virus infection in neighbouring Kerala, after a 12-year-old boy died of Nipah virus infection in Kozhikode district of Kerala on September 3.
DC has instructed the officials to take all necessary precautionary measures. “As Dakshina Kannada district shares its border with Kerala and a large number of people commute for health and education purposes, a Nipah alert has been announced,” he said.
He further said that Nipah is a zoonotic virus which spreads from animals to humans and also transmitted directly between people. “The symptoms include acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis besides fever, headache, cough and throat ache,” he said.
He requested people to wash their hands frequently and stay away from bats and pigs that cause the spread of the virus. Also, avoid consuming fruits that were partly eaten by birds and animals, he added.
He also instructed the health authorities to inform the health department immediately if any person was found experiencing symptoms of Nipah.
Meanwhile, Kerala heaves sigh of relief as all high-risk contacts of Nipah deceased are negative. All the eight samples of those who were the primary contacts of the 12-year-old boy, who died due to Nipah virus, have turned out to be negative, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George.
“The samples of the boy’s parents and the health professionals who came in close contact with the boy while being in treatment are all negative. Three samples of each of the eight people were tested at NIV Pune,” said George.
Inputs from IANS
