After returning from Kerala, Bengal man with suspected Nipah shifted to Kolkata hospital

A man, who had recently returned from Kerala, was admitted to the city-based Beliaghata ID Hospital with symptoms of Nipah virus infection, a senior official of the health department said on Wednesday. 

The official informed that the man from the Burdwan district, who was working as a migrant laborer in Kerala, was admitted to the hospital with high fever, nausea, and throat infection, according to a report published by the news agency PTI. 

One of his family members said requisite tests on the youth to confirm the infection are yet to be done. 

"He returned from Kerala where several cases of Nipah virus infections have been reported. So, we are not taking any chances. Doctors are keeping a close watch on him," the official said.

"He returned to West Bengal after being discharged from the hospital. But he again fell ill within a couple of days. He was first taken to the National Medical College and Hospital and then to Beliaghata ID Hospital," he added.

The health department official said the patient was initially at a hospital in Ernakulam Kerala after he complained of a high fever, as per PTI reports. 

Kerala remained braced for a fresh outbreak of Nipah cases with nearly a thousand people currently under surveillance. 

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the situation was under control but the ‘threat is not over yet’. Meanwhile, the Kozhikode administration relaxed restrictions on Tuesday as no new cases of Nipah virus infection were reported in the state.

State officials held a Nipah review meeting at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday afternoon and decided to conduct a zero surveillance study.

Vijayan said that 994 people are currently under surveillance and samples of 304 have been collected. Of these, the test results of 267 people have been received. Six people tested positive and nine people are under observation at Kozhikode Medical College. The Health Department also formed a psycho-social support team as part of the Nipah prevention activities.

Schools and offices were shut in some parts of Kerala earlier this month after the deadly virus killed two people -- the fourth such outbreak since 2018. There are currently no vaccines to prevent or cure it, and the infection has a mortality rate of about 70%.

Initial symptoms include fever, respiratory distress, headaches, and vomiting. Severe cases can also include encephalitis and seizures leading to coma. The southern state has seen outbreaks in 2018 (which claimed 21 lives) as well as in 2019 and 2021.

(With PTI inputs)