Nipah virus: Four infected patients in Kozhikode district of Kerala have recovered, says Health Minister

A file picture of a health worker coming out of an isolation ward where patients under observation for Nipah virus were accommodated at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode district of Kerala.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

Four people, including a nine-year-old boy, who were under treatment for Nipah in Kozhikode, have recovered, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on September 29.

Sharing the “good news”, the Minister said in a brief statement that they have tested “double negative” (they were tested twice and turned out to be negative).

A total of six people were infected with the virus in the district, and of them, two died.

Of the two deaths, the first person who died on August 30 was found to be the index case, or patient zero, from whom others caught the infection.

Earlier, the Kerala government had withdrawn containment in all zones and allied restrictions imposed in Kozhikode district, as no new cases of Nipah virus have been reported here since September 16.

However, the district authorities urged people to continue their vigil against the virus infection, maintain social distancing and ensure the use of masks and sanitiser.