Nipah virus in Malappuram: Mask required; restrictions in Anakkayam, Pandikkad panchayats

People in Malappuram district have been asked to wear masks after a 15-year-old boy from Pandikkad near Manjeri tested positive for the deadly Nipah virus. The boy is undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode.

District Collector VR Vinod has imposed restrictions for Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats. If the boy is from Pandikkad, the school he goes to is in Anakkayam. Schools, colleges, madrassas, angawadis and tutoring centres in those panchayats will be closed.

People have been asked to avoid gatherings, even for events that were previously planned. Weddings and other social gatherings should be limited to a minimum number of guests.

Shops will be allowed to operate only between 10am and 5pm in Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats. However, medical shops will be exempted. Cinemas will not be allowed to operate.

Health Minister Veena George, who is overseeing the government’s response to the Nipah case, said people in the district must wear masks when going out. Students and teachers must wear masks in schools and colleges.

Health authorities advised social distancing in public places. “People should stay away from all kinds of events, including marriages and other festivities, till further orders,” said District Medical Officer R. Renuka.

Dr Renuka said people should consult a doctor if they show any fever symptoms and never resort to self-treatment. “Fruits suspected of being bitten or partially eaten by bats, birds or other animals should never be eaten. People should wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consumption,” she said.

As many as 214 people who had contact with the boy are being monitored. Sixty of them are in the high-risk category and their serum samples are being tested for Nipah. The health authorities are busy preparing a watertight contact list and arrangements have been made to provide counselling to those who need it. The director of health is expected to arrive in Malappuram on July 21.

The authorities released the Nipah patient’s route map on Saturday evening. The patient had reached Bright Tuition Centre in Pandikkad by CPB bus at 7.18 am on July 11. He visited Dr Vijayan’s clinic at 8.30 am on July 12, the pediatric OT at PKM Hospital at 7.30 am on July 13, the emergency and OT at PKM Hospital at 8 pm on July 15 and the emergency ward of the ICU at Moulana Hospital in Perinthalmanna on the same day.

The minister has asked those who were present at those places when the patient was there to contact the control room. Anyone who shows symptoms such as high fever, headache, cough, dizziness, muscle pain and vomiting should contact the control room. People with respiratory illness should be extremely careful.

You can contact the Nipah control room at 0483-2732010, 2732050, 2732060, 2732090.