Nipah Scare: Travelling city techies to come under radar

Hyderabad: After a scare in Karnataka and Hyderabad, doctors are considering the travel history of patients reporting with symptoms of Nipah, the bad virus, and that is why techies are coming under the radar.

The health department will ensure that companies do not send their employees to affected areas in Kerala, said Ms Rajeshwari Tiwari, state officer of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). 

“Techies who travel to their hometown and back could be the carriers of this virus. However as per recent information, the outbreak has been localised and hasn’t spread beyond Kerala,” she said.

The National Institute of Virology at Pune, where the samples are sent for testing, has been responding quickly to queries, Ms Tiwari said. The NIV has received nearly 200 samples from across the country. Doctors state that there is an atmosphere of fear that is not needed if citizens take care. “The Kerala government has assured us the virus has not spread and the situation is under control. Citizens should follow preventive measures and hygiene,” Ms Tiwari said.

The outbreak of the virus in Kerala has led to doctors trying to develop a vaccine or a mode of treatment. The Indian Council of Medical Research has written to Australia asking for an antibody that can be used to neutralise the virus.

A senior official from the ICMR said, “The antibody has been tested in artificial conditions but never in humans before. Even after receiving it, researchers need to work on it to develop it and only then can we use it on humans. It cannot be used as a vaccine.”

The official said the antibody would be a mode of treatment once the virus enters the body. “The high alert issued in all states was worrying which is why we decided to work on a mode of treatment,” he said.

States have been asked to tell citizens to not panic as recovery is not impossible, and to report to doctors as soon as symptoms begin.