Nipah: Mother of deceased child shows symptoms, samples of those in high-risk category will be sent to NIV

KOZHIKODE: The mother of the 12-year-old boy who died of Nipah in Chathamangalam has been reported to have symptoms of mild fever, Health Minister Veena George said. She is in the primary contact list coming under the high-risk category. The surveillance team is monitoring her. Speaking to the media, the minister said that the mother and others will be soon shifted to the Medical College Hospital. She said that the issue of non-collection of samples at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where the 12-year-old sought treatment, will be seriously examined.

The minister said that the contact list of the child who died of fever is likely to get expanded. "When the route map gets published, there may be people who may not be identified by the health department. The primary contacts have been detected. Their secondary contacts need to be identified. Then the contact list is likely to expand. The contacts need to be identified in a timely manner," Veena George said. She also said that samples of those people in the high-risk category would be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for testing.