Three close contacts of Nipah patient test negative

Kozhikode: Three people on the contact list of the Nipah-infected person in Ramanattukara, who were admitted to the hospital for observation on June 12, have tested negative. It was the three close relatives on the Nipah patient’s contact list who tested negative in the screening conducted at Kozhikode medical college hospital.Meanwhile, four more people on the contact list were admitted to the hospital on Saturday for observation. As many as 13 more people were newly included in the contact list. All of them belong to the low-risk category. With this, a total of 100 people are currently on the contact list, including four in the very high-risk category, 14 in the high-risk category and 82 in the low-risk category.Health workers conducted a survey in 35 more houses in division 5 of Ramanattukara municipality, where the infection was reported.

With this, visits to all 320 houses in the division have been completed.The patient, who tested positive for Nipah, is currently on ventilator support at the medical college. After 48 hours, the medical board will assess the patient’s condition and administer the second dose of monoclonal antibody.

An expert team from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) visited the medical college hospital.Health workers from the control room contacted all 100 people on his contact list, including the 13 newly added to the contact list. Also, as part of the district mental health programme, 76 people on the contact list were called, and mental support was ensured. Revenue minister A P Anilkumar, who oversees the district, led a meeting in the district collector’s chamber to assess ongoing activities.Alleging a lack of coordination in Nipah prevention efforts, CPM staged a protest in Kozhikode on Saturday.