Medicines for treatment of Nipah patients out of stock; drug purchased in 2017 got expired

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health Minister Veena George said that medicines for the treatment of Nipah patients are out of stock in the state. The minister said this during a press conference after a high-level meeting convened under the leadership of the health department. The medicine, which was purchased in the wake of the Nipah outbreak in 2017, expired in 2020. Veena George said the medicine now needs to be imported from Australia. The mock drill conducted by the then Health Minister KK Shailaja in 2020 did not find that medicine had run out of stock.

Meanwhile, the health minister said that 251 persons are in the contact list of the 12-year-old who died of Nipah infection in Chathamangalam. Of these, 11 have shown symptoms of Nipah, the minister said. Samples of eight people have been sent to NIV for testing. The test results will be obtained today. Samples of the three will be sent today.