16 people test negative for Nipah, CCTV cameras introduced in affected areas

MALAPPURAM: All 16 serum test results for the Nipah virus turned out negative, said Health Minister Veena George on Wednesday. All the patients undergoing treatment are in the low-risk category. A total of 58 samples have tested negative so far. The Minister participated online in the Nipah review meeting held in Malappuram Collectorate Conference Hall.

21 people are currently admitted to Manjeri and Kozhikode Medical Colleges. Among these 17 are people who came into contact with Nipah patients. Today, 12 new people have been included in the secondary contact list, taking the total number of people in the contact list to 472. 220 people are in the high-risk category. On Wednesday, three people were admitted with Nipah symptoms.

Today a fever survey was conducted in 8376 houses in Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats. A total of 26,431 houses have been surveyed so far. The survey will be completed in all the houses by tomorrow. 224 people were made to undergo psychological counselling on Wednesday.

An expert team led by Dr Balasubramaniam from Pune NIV has started working in the affected area to collect bat samples. If the bats' saliva samples show the presence of virus, genetic testing will be done. CCTV cameras have been installed in the affected areas to detect the presence of bats. Samples from cattle and domestic animals are being collected by the Animal Welfare Department and handed over to an expert team from Bhopal to detect the presence of the virus.