8 Who Came In Contact With Nipah Victim Test Negative: Kerala Minister

Kerala Nipah virus: Five more samples are being tested at Kozhikode Medical College, where a testing facility has been set up in coordination with the National Institute of Virology

The samples of eight people who came in contact with a 12-year-old boy who died of Nipah virus infection in Kerala has returned negative, state Health Minister Veena George said today. The samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. "It's a big relief the samples turned out negative," the Health Minister said. Five more samples are being tested at Kozhikode Medical College, where a testing facility for Nipah has been set up in coordination with NIV. Nipah virus infection in humans causes a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The case fatality rate is estimated at 40 per cent to 75 per cent, and this rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management, WHO says.