Alert issued in Kerala after a person tests positive for Nipah in Kozhikode, long list of potential contacts raises concern
Kozhikode: The Kerala Health Department has been placed on high alert after a 43-year-old businessman in Kozhikode tested positive for the Nipah virus in preliminary tests.
Although final confirmation from the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) is awaited, emergency public health protocols and containment measures have already been implemented in Kozhikode district.
The patient was initially taken to a local health center and later to a large private hospital, before being transferred to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode late Wednesday night.
The initial positive test was conducted at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, and final confirmation from NIV Pune is expected soon.
Surveillance begins, health teams assessing the risk
Following the detection of the case, the Health Department has implemented established protocols to tackle the Nipah virus. Surveillance has begun to identify individuals who may have come into close contact with the patient. Health teams are also assessing the risk and taking precautionary measures to prevent the virus from spreading.
A long list of potential contacts
As the patient's fever had subsided, he visited several health centers—including a de-addiction center and outpatient departments—before Nipah was suspected. This has resulted in a long list of potential contacts.
The patient has been moved to an isolation ward at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. The hospital superintendent stated that strict restrictions have been imposed around the ward; public access to the Savitri Devi Sabu Ward has been completely halted, barricades have been erected in the special ward area, and parking in the vicinity has been entirely prohibited.
The superintendent announced that all patients, including those due for discharge, must use the hospital's main gate. Prior to this, cases of Nipah were reported in Kozhikode in 2018, 2021, 2023, and 2024, and in Ernakulam in 2019. In 2018, at least 17 people died due to the Nipah virus in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.