KOZHIKODE: The symptoms of Nipah virus were found on more people. Six were newly diagnosed with the symptoms. With this, the number of people with symptoms increased to eight. None of these are reported to be in critical condition. Samples of eight people with symptoms have been taken for testing.

Meanwhile, the number of people on the contact list of the boy, who died of the virus the other day, has also increased. There are 251 people in the list. Thirty-two of those in the high-risk category have been hospitalized. The health minister had earlier asserted that the contact list could go up further. Steps are still being taken to find more people on the contact list.

Meantime, the animal welfare department began an inspection on the area where the boy dead was situated. Samples of all the domestic animals will be examined. As part of this, the swabs of the goat was taken for examination. The goat was sick before the child became ill. The child took care of it. The swabs of the goat were taken to see if it was the cause of the disease.

The disturbance of wild pigs is also rampant in the area. So, the animal husbandry department is also considering to test the pigs. The permission of the forest department has been sought for this. Along with this, steps have been taken to inspect the bats. The swabs will be sent to the lab in Bhopal for testing.