KOZHIKODE: 2 more people have died in Kerala of Nipah virus, taking the total number of deaths to 16. Both the cases have been reported from Kozhikode.The symptoms of the infection include fever, headache, drowsiness, breathing trouble, disorientation and delusions.
The virus causes severe brain swelling called encephalitis, and in some cases respiratory disease, and typically kills three-quarters of the people infected.
The first known Nipah outbreak was in 1998 on a pig farm in Malaysia, which inspired the plot for the 2011 movie Contagion.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these symptoms can progress to coma within 24-48 hours.Bats are believed to be the main carriers of the virus, for which there is no vaccine yet.
The deadly virus, which infects both humans and animals, spreads through contact. The infection in India is believed to have started in Kozhikode in Kerala, where dead bats were found in an unused well inside a home.
A soldier from Kerala who was posted at the Eastern Command headquarters Fort William, in Calcutta, died on May 25, according to the Times of India.
Seenu Prasad, who had been on a month’s leave in Kerala before rejoining duty on May 13, was admitted to Command military hospital, in Calcutta, on May 20.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 29 banned import of fresh fruits and vegetables from Kerala in the wake of outbreak of Nipah virus (NiV) in the state.
