Nipah virus: Karnataka govt issues circular to strengthen surveillance

Bengaluru: Integrated Disease Surveillance Program, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services, Karnataka, on Wednesday issued a circular in view of the detection of Nipah virus in Kerala.

The circular calls for strengthening the surveillance activity in view of the disease.

"So far, NiV has infected 477 people and killed 248 since 1998. Outbreaks of Nipah in South Asia have a strong seasonal pattern and a limited geographical range. The case fatality rate of NiV ranges from 40- 70% although it has been as high as 100 per cent in some outbreaks. In 2018, 18 cases and 16 deaths have been reported from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala", the circular read.

It also cited reports of a 23-year-old student from Kerala being tested positive for the disease while stating that surveillance activity has to be strengthened.

The circular has directed that an interdepartmental co-ordination committee meeting be convened immediately including officials from the veterinary department, IMA, and IAP, in districts which are vulnerable to the virus namely Chamarajanagara, Mysuru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru.

The government has also asked for identifying two isolation beds to isolate suspected human case and for making sure all necessary logistics are available at all levels.

Nipah Virus Infection (NiV) is an emerging infectious disease of public health importance in the South-East Asia Region. The virus is named after the Malaysian village where it was first discovered. This virus along with Hendra virus comprises a new genus designated Henipavirus in the subfamily Paramyxovirinae.