Think Nipah has spread to your city? Here's its state-wise status update

As concern over the Nipah virus outbreak increases with the infection claiming at least 16 lives in Kerala, state governments across the country are gearing up for any incidence of infection in their respective jurisdictions.

Over the past two weeks, in the wake of Nipah's spread, state governments in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Telangana, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan have issued health advisories to warn people of the dangers as well as the symptoms of the infection. In these advisories, the authorities have asked people to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of Nipah.

Further, any cases of low-grade fever among people are advised to be reported to hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has written to the Queensland government in Australia, asking it to provide an antibody developed there to test if it can "neutralise" the virus in humans.

"We have asked them to give their monoclonal antibody for conducting a test in India to find out if it can neutralise the Nipah virus in humans. The antibody has only been tried in vitro (happening outside the body in artificial conditions, often in a test tube) and has been found to be effective. But it has not been tested on humans," said ICMR Director General, Dr Balram Bhargava, while clarifying that it will not lead to the creation of a vaccine.

Nipah Virus: Symptoms, precautions, facts, cure and more details here

The recent outbreak of Nipah Virus in Kerala is worrisome. Here is a guide informing you about the disease, its symptoms and prevention.

Nipah falls under the category of Zoonotic diseases like Ebola, HIV, mad cow disease and rabies, which can spread from animals to humans. 

Nipah was added to the list of Zonotic diseases in 1998-99 when there was an outbreak of an unknown illness in the Malaysian village of Sungai Nipah. Hence, the disease “Nipah” got its name from the village it first broke into.

The virus, which causes the disease, is commonly found in various species of fruit bats, considered carriers of the disease.

Because of the widespread dispersion of the bat species Pteropodidae across the globe, Nipah outbreaks have been observed in countries including Australia, Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Iran, Madagascar and most of the Africa.  

Nipah virus kills 11 in Kerala; Centre says disease unlikely to spread

The death toll due to Nipah virus, the severe disease that infects both humans and animals, in Kerala has gone up to 11 even as the disease has been reported in one more district in Northern Kerala. The government has said that it has taken steps to curb the disease from spreading to other places.

Three people died in Malappuram, the district near Kozhikode where the disease outbreak was first reported, and the health department has confirmed that these deaths were due to Nipah virus infection. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is expected to arrive at Malappuram to support disease management efforts.

The first death due to the virus, which is communicated through bats and pigs, in the state was reported at Perambra, Kozhikode, on May 19. The death toll has increased to 11 with two patients dying on Tuesday in Kozhikode. Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said that the government has tested blood samples of 18 people for suspected Nipah virus disease. Shailaja added that around 12 had been confirmed, while the virus was not present in the blood samples of others. Out of those confirmed infections, 10 have already died and two are in the hospital. The number of people who have died due to the virus includes one person whose blood sample was not tested, and including this, the total suspected cases were 19, according to reports