Kerala logs 180 Shigella cases in June, Nipah patient stays critical

Kerala on Friday reported eight more cases of Shigella, taking the total number recorded in the state this month to 180, officials said. The health department also said six deaths linked to the infection have been reported in June, while the total number of confirmed cases this year has risen to 256.

In a separate update, the health department said one more high-risk contact of the Nipah patient had completed the mandatory 21-day quarantine period without developing any symptoms. The patient continues to be on ventilator support at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital, and no new contacts have been admitted to hospital.

According to a statement issued by the office of Health Minister K Muraleedharan, of the eight new Shigella cases, three were reported from Kozhikode, two from Wayanad, and one each from Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram. Shigella is a highly contagious bacterial infection that mainly spreads through contaminated food, water or poor hygiene, and causes diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps.

Outbreaks have been declared in four districts — Kozhikode, where 61 cases have been reported in June, Wayanad with 25, Thrissur with 13 and Alappuzha with five. Besides the latest cases, Malappuram has reported 25 infections during June, followed by Thiruvananthapuram with 18, Kollam with 12, Kannur with 11, Ernakulam with four, and Idukki and Palakkad with three each, the statement said.

On the Nipah situation, the department said the person released from quarantine was a co-worker of the patient and the first high-risk contact linked to the current case to complete quarantine successfully. At present, four people in the very high-risk category and 13 in the high-risk category remain under quarantine, while 75 low-risk contacts are under observation.

Nipah is a zoonotic viral disease that spreads from animals to humans and can also be transmitted through close human-to-human contact. The infection can cause severe respiratory illness and encephalitis, and has a high fatality rate.

Health workers on Friday visited 69 houses in Ramanattukara municipality, where the patient was reported, while the district control room has so far received 92 calls from the public. Overall, the state recorded more Shigella cases during June and continued its monitoring and quarantine measures in the Nipah case.

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