Nipah virus in Kerala: one more case reported, Centre sends antibody for treatment

 One more case of Nipah infection has been confirmed in Kerala's Kozhikode district.

State Health Minister Veena George's office on Friday said that a 39-year-old man has been confirmed with the Nipah virus after his samples turned positive.

He was under observation in a hospital.

He had sought treatment at a private hospital where Nipah-positive affected were treated for other ailments earlier, it said in a statement.

With this, the total number of Nipah cases has gone up to six in Kozhikode.

Meanwhile, the ICMR has delivered the antibody requested by the state to combat the deadly virus. A mobile laboratory was also sent to ground zero to enable the state to test samples.

The monoclonal antibody was delivered in Kozhikode by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday. The antiviral is the only option available to the government to treat infections, although its efficacy has not been clinically proven yet.

The ICMR's National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune sent its mobile BSL-3 (Biosafety Level-3) laboratory to Kozhikode to test samples for the virus in the district itself after five cases, including two deaths, were recorded.

Meanwhile, in a relief to the state government, the 11 samples sent for testing returned negative results for the virus.

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