The schools, colleges, and other educational institutes in Kerala have been closed indefinitely in the Kozhikode region due to the sudden outbreak of the Nipah virus, which has already caused two deaths and hundreds of infections in the area.
Multiple contamination zones have been set up across Kozhikode while the patient zero of the Nipah virus in the area has been identified. Online classes are being conducted and students have been asked not to participate in festivities with large groups as a precaution.
The Nipah virus has seen a sudden rise in Kerala and is likely to spread further. The virus has a high fatality rate if the symptoms are not treated at the earliest, but the virus remains undetected and asymptomatic in most patients for the first 5-14 days.
Can Nipah virus cause epidemic in India?
Nipah virus or NiV is usually spread through animals such as fruit bats, and person-to-person contamination is also a possibility. The outbreak of Nipah is an almost annual occurrence in places such as India, Bangladesh, and parts of Africa.
Over the last five years, Kerala has had four outbreaks of the Nipah virus, and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been put in the category of diseases that have the potential to lead to a global epidemic.
However, the spread of Nipah has been confined to just Kerala in the country since 2018, which means that India has the capacity to control the spread of the disease. It is expected that the Nipah has reached an endemic stage in the fruit bats spreading the virus.
This means that the virus is likely to reach an endemic stage in Kozhikode soon, leading to herd immunity against the Nipah virus. The virus is expected to remain contained to just Kerala and is unlikely to cause a Covid-level emergency in the country.
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