Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala: All educational institutes in Kozhikode shut till September 24. Top 10 latest updates

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Nipah virus has been reported in Kerala, triggering a panic in the southern state of India. Nipah virus is caused by fruit bats and is potentially fatal to humans as well as animals. Along with respiratory illness, it is also known to cause fever, muscular pain, headache, fever, dizziness, and nausea.

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Nipah virus can spread by respiratory droplets and has a fatality rate of 40 to 70 per cent.

Nipah was first recognised in 1999, since then, it has made its mark in four or five countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and India. Since 2018, Kerala is currently seeing its fourth outbreak of Nipah.

Here are the latest 10 updates:

• In view of the rising cases, the Kerala government has decided to test everyone who is on the high-risk contact list of infected persons. State Health Minister Veena George held a high-level meeting at the Kozhikode Collectorate on Friday to take stock of the situation.

• All educational institutes in Kerala's Kozhikode, the ground-zero of the current outbreak of Nipah virus, will remain shut for a week until next Sunday, September 24. This includes schools, professional colleges, and tuition centres. Meanwhile, online classes will be ensured throughout the week, the district administration said on Friday.

• Health Minister Veena George has said that at present, the contact list of infected persons has 1,080 people, while 130 people have been newly included in the list today. Out of all this, 327 people on the list are health workers. A total of 29 people in other districts are on the contact list of Nipah-infected people. Among them, 22 are from Malappuram, one from Wayanad, and three each from