Nipah virus: Lab rules out insect-eating bat link

Kozhikode: The Nipah virus that caused  the epidemic in Kozhikode and Malappuram was  not spread by the insectivorous bats found in the well at Perambra, the epicentre of the outbreak.  This has been confirmed in the tests conducted at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal,  of the blood samples of bats caught from the well.  The tests, which proved negative, were received by the health department on Friday. The results confirm  the earlier claims of a section of experts  that the fruit-eating bats are the natural hosts of Nipah virus.  

Now the samples from the fruit-eating bats would be collected from the spot and sent for tests. Veterinary expert Dr Arun Zachariah who collected the samples  told DC that the surveillance for fruit-eating bats in  the area would begin on Monday. “There were only two insectivorous  bats in the well,  of which one was caught,”  he said.  It was the experts from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal,  who first identified the ‘well’ as the epicentre of the disease.

“So we focused on it collecting samples from the bats that lived there. Now we would focus on the  fruit- eating bats of the area,”  he added.   The veterinary department had sent 21 samples  collected from the district,  including that of pigs, reportedly hosts of Nipah, it is learnt. The experts from the National Virology Institute, Pune,  also will reach here for further consultation on Saturday.