Malappuram, Kerala:

A 41-year-old man died in Kerala’s Malappuram district today due to viral hepatitis, marking the sixth such confirmed case in the district in the last three months. This incident has prompted the health department to urge people to be vigilant against the disease.

District Medical Officer R Renuka said that the man, hailing from Chaliyar panchayat, passed away from viral hepatitis on Friday morning while under treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode.

“Malappuram district has reported 3,184 suspected cases of viral hepatitis and 1,032 confirmed cases since January this year. There were five suspected deaths and five confirmed deaths. One death was reported in March and four in April,” the officer noted in a statement issued by the District Public Relations Department.

The statement highlighted that the highest number of cases was reported in Pothukal, Kuzhimanna, Omanur, Pookotoor, Morayur, Peruvallur panchayats, and Malappuram municipality.

Regarding the man’s death in Chaliyar, the health department revealed that a nine-year-old girl in his household was diagnosed with viral hepatitis on March 19.

Following this diagnosis, medical officers and health workers promptly visited the house and implemented preventive measures.

Subsequently, on April 22, the man himself was diagnosed with viral hepatitis at Chaliyar Family Health Centre and admitted to Nilambur District Hospital on April 26.

Later, he was transferred to a private hospital in Manchery for specialist treatment, and then to a private hospital in Kozhikode as his liver function deteriorated.

Unfortunately, he developed an infection during a liver transplant and succumbed to the illness on Friday, the statement said.

Viral hepatitis, caused by microorganisms belonging to the group of viruses, manifests with symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, yellowing of the eyes, and yellow urine.

In severe cases, liver function can be significantly affected, potentially leading to death, the health department said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thiruvananthapuram:

Teams from National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune would arrive in Kerala during the day to set up a mobile lab at Kozhikode Medical College to test for Nipah and carry out survey of bats, the state government said in the assembly today.

The move comes in the wake of Nipah infection being confirmed in four persons in Kozhikode district of the state.

Responding to a query regarding the Nipah infection in the assembly, State Health Minister Veena George said that the virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant that spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious.

Ms George further said that besides the teams from NIV, Pune, a group of epidemiologists would reach Kerala today from Chennai to carry out a survey.

Additionally, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has agreed to fly down the monoclonal antibodies that are required to treat Nipah patients, she told the House.

The minister was responding to a query by CPI MLA P Balachandran during the Question-Answer hour regarding the measures taken to deal with the Nipah virus which has killed two and infected two others in Kozhikode.

Ms George said surveillance, contact tracing, categorising them into low and high risk, setting up isolation facilities for them, demarcating containment zones and procuring medicines from ICMR for those infected, were some of the numerous steps taken by the Health department to prevent spread of the brain damaging virus.

Seven village panchayats — Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara — in Kerala’s Kozhikode district have been declared as containment zones.

Soon after the Nipah virus infection was confirmed in Kozhikode district on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had urged people not to panic and to take precaution instead.

“Everyone should strictly follow the instructions of the health department and the police and fully cooperate with the restrictions,” he had said.

One of those infected with the virus was a nine-year-old boy.

The death of the first person, on August 30, was initially considered a death due to the comorbidity of liver cirrhosis, but his son, the nine-year-old boy who is already in ICU, and his 24-year-old brother-in-law are the two positive cases that were detected on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)