After Kerala, Nipah virus sparks fear in Karnataka; 2 cases suspected

Kochi: Two people suspected to be infected with the brain-damaging Nipah virus are under treatment in Karnataka, a health official said.

The rare virus has killed at least 11 people in adjacent Kerala, where medical crews are scrambling to manage the spread of the deadly disease - and to minimize panic.

Symptoms of the virus surfaced in a 20-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man in the port city of Mangalore after they travelled to neighbouring Kerala and had contact with infected patients, said Rajesh B V, a health official in Karnataka on Wednesday.

"They are not confirmed Nipah cases yet, so there is no need to panic," he said by telephone. "The situation is under control."

The patients are being treated and samples of their blood have been sent for screening, with results expected by Thursday, he added.

Nipah is a rare virus spread by fruit bats, which can cause flu-like symptoms and brain damage.

The Nipah virus or NiV infection has symptoms like breathing trouble, brain swelling, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can fall into coma within 48 hours. It travels through direct contact with a patient.

There is no vaccine for the virus yet, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). The main treatment for those infected is "intensive supportive care", according to the UN health body.

Health officials investigating the outbreak in Kerala, where the first death happened last week, have traced it to a well infested with bats from which the victims drew water.

Kerala is on high alert over the infection and two control rooms have been opened in Kozhikode. A central team has also been sent to the district to help the state administration.

Travel to Kerala, a popular tourist destination, was however declared safe by Rajeev Sadanandan, a state health official, who said the outbreak "remains highly localised", with all cases linked to one family.

He declined to comment on the Mangalore cases, but identified the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad for tourists in Kerala to avoid, as being close to the outbreak and under scrutiny by health officials.

"Since there are many foreigners who travel to Kerala, we are advising they can avoid these districts for abundant caution," he told Reuters.

Lini, a 31-year-old nurse, who was in the team that treated the first Nipah virus victim in Kerala earlier this month, succumbed to the infection on Monday.

At least 17 patients are still under treatment, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja Teacher said.

"All steps to prevent the spread of the virus have been taken," she added, urging people not to destroy colonies of fruit bats.