Nipah outbreak in Kerala not as serious as in 2018: Ex-minister Shailaja

Shailaja, who won widespread appreciation for her handing of the Nipah infection five years ago, said Kerala has a protocol and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to effectively fight the infection and prevent its spread.

She was the health minister in the previous LDF government, which fought the first Nipah outbreak in the state.

"In 2018, it was a new virus to us, and we did not have any experience battling such an infection. Now, we have everything in place to contain it effectively," Shailaja told the media in Thiruvananthapuram.

She said Nipah testing facilities have been established in Kerala but the declaration of the virus infection can only be made by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

"We have the facility. We tried it out during the first bout in 2018 at Kozhikode. But the declaration can only be made by NIV, Pune," she said.

Virus outbreak

The Marxist leader said during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Kerala government took special permission from the Centre to declare COVID results from the virology lab at Alappuzha.

"As far as Nipah is concerned, we can release the results only if we get special permission from the Central government," Shailaja said.

The brain-damaging virus has killed two people and infected three others in Kozhikode district.

On Wednesday, a 24-year-old health worker became Kerala's fifth confirmed Nipah case since its outbreak.

Out of the three infected persons under treatment, the condition of a nine-year-old boy remains critical. The government has ordered monoclonal antibodies from ICMR, New Delhi.

It is the only available anti-viral treatment for Nipah infection though it has not been clinically proven yet.

(With agency inputs)