Nipah virus in Kerala: Former Health Minister K K Shailaja shares updates says ‘Situation not as scary as in 2018’
Nipah in Kerala: With India on high alert after a resurgence of the potentially deadly Nipah virus (NiV), which has killed at least two people in recent days. The virus strain seen in the state was the Bangladesh variant that spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious. Now Former Health Minister and senior ruling CPI(M) MLA K K Shailaja has shared an update saying that the state has nothing to worry about the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode as the situation is not as scary as it was in 2018.
In 2018, Shailaja, had won accolades for containing the Nipah infection effectively. She said that the southern state has a protocol and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to effectively fight the infection and prevent its spread. Shaiaja was the Health minister in the previous LDF government, which fought the first Nipah outbreak in the state.
"In 2018, it was a new virus to us, and we did not have any experience battling such an infection. Now, we have everything in place to contain it effectively," Shailaja told reporters as reported by PTI. She said Nipah testing facilities have been established in the state but the declaration of virus infection can only be made by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
"We have the facility. We tried it out during the first bout in 2018 at Kozhikode. But the declaration can only be made by NIV, Pune," the senior CPI(M) MLA said.
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