Nipah has claimed 12 lives in the northern districts of Kerala.Kozhikode: The definite lack of quarantine facilities and laxity in adopting isolation treatment protocols are coming to the fore following the death of Nipah outbreak in the northern districts of Kerala.
Nipah has claimed the lives of 12, including that of Valachuketti Moosa, 53, Sooppikkada of Changaroth in Perambra, near here, on Thursday. With Moosa's death, the family has lost four, including his two sons and sister-in-law.
Residents in the vicinity said there was very little or no quarantine treatment for those who had close contact with the affected ones.
Moosa’s sons Muhammed Sabith, 24 and Muhammed Salih, 26 had died earlier. After that, Moosa’s brother Moideen’s wife, Mariam, 50, also died.
However, the body fluid samples of the first victim, Sabith, were not tested and there was no confirmation on whether Nipah caused his death, doctors at the Government Medical College Hospital, where he breathed his last, said.
The family now was left with Moosa’s wife, Mariam, and their youngest son Mutalib, a student, who had been staying in a hostel. Mariam and Mutalib have shifted to a relative’s house in Kavadukka.
Officials at the primary health centre (PHC) confirmed that no steps had been taken to provide quarantine treatment for the immediate relatives of Moosa, though they raised it at the district medical officer (DMO) level.
However, they were asked to take such steps if any of them reported having fever or related illness. The immediate relatives of nurse Lini, who attended to affected patients and died, were also not given quarantine treatment, they added.
Efforts were being taken to persuade the relatives of Moosa to ensure the latter's burial in Kozhikode instead of the burial ground of Jamaat mosque in Panthirikkara, sources said.
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