KOZHIKODE: The fight against Nipah virus (NiV) has narrowed down to controlling its spread. Since the outbreak, an effort to trace the virus from bats had gone parallel with various measures put in to contain the deadly virus. But, as finding the virus from lakhs of fruit bats is a tedious process, it got shelved. “Tracing the virus from bats cannot be done overnight. It has been stopped temporarily,” said Dr A.C. Mohandas, the district animal husbandry officer.
Sources said an epidemiological team would be set up for finding the source, which may take some years. Though there was a death from the secondary wave, authorities are confident that it will be weak and the possibility for a third one is nil. Nine new suspected cases got admitted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) on Sunday, taking the total to 22. Another 22 tested negative for the killer virus that has no vaccine or cure.
Till now, 205 sample results came, of which 18 were positive including the 16 dead. Two positive cases have been recuperating at KMCH, and both have tested negative now. The data excludes the death of index case, Mohamed Sabith, whose blood or body fluids were not tested. The list of contacts under observation has soared to 2079, adding 75 more. A six-member team from National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, which reached here on Saturday, met health minister K.K. Shylaja on Sunday.
Sources said they discussed setting up an epidemiological team for figuring out the virus source. Meanwhile, the expert team from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will explore the possibility of administering m-102.4 monoclonal antibody brought from Australia, which is under trial for a similar virus, Hendra (HeV). Experts are unlikely to recommend the drug for the two confirmed cases as both have tested negative now. The government has taken the initiative to import the Japanese Favipiravir, another antiviral drug.
