Students wear protective masks as they visit patients with Nipah fever at the Perambra Taluk Hospital. Kozhikode: Fear has gripped Kozhikode again as another bout of Nipah disease has been reported in the district even as the authorities were trying to contain the initial outbreak. Though no new case was reported till the beginning of this week, three reported deaths since Wednesday have set the alarm bells ringing among the authorities as well as the public.
Around 1,000 people who had been in contact with the affected persons before the confirmation of the disease, are under observation, health minister K K Shylaja said.
The authorities, meanwhile, are unable to ascertain the exact reason behind the Nipah outbreak as well as the effective cure for the viral disease. So far there are only speculations about its rise and the mode of contracting the disease. The test results of the samples from fruit bats are expected to come in two days from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, said the district veterinary officer.
As the district seemed to regain normalcy after Nipah virus (NiV) claimed more than a dozen lives both in Kozhikode and adjoining Malappuarm districts, the deaths of Kozhikode district court senior superintendent Madhusudhanan and another youngster Akhil on Wednesday and the subsequent death of Rasin, on Thursday, have triggered panic among the people on account of the high mortality rate of the disease. With the latest fatalities, the Nipah death toll currently stands at 17.
Hospitals closing down, patients fear to seek treatment
The health department has issued directive to the doctors, nurses and staff of government hospital at Balussery to go on leave, after two patients -- Resin and Ismail -- who sought treatment from there died of NiV. Six doctors and eight nurses, who attended to the deceased, have been given permission to proceed on leave. The rest can work on a rotation basis to run the out-patient wing. K K Shylaja said the decision was taken as a precautionary step and an expert team will reach Kerala to administer the anti-Nipah drug from Australia.
On Thursday, the health department issued a notice asking those who had been in the casualty, CT scan and waiting rooms of the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on May 5 and May 14; and those who visited the Balussery taluk hospital on May 18 and May 19 to contact the State Nipah Cell as early as possible. The contact number is: 0495-2381000.
Meanwhile, the number of patients reaching government and private hospitals here has reduced and some doctors have stopped their private practice at residences.
Courts set to close down temporarily
Kozhikode district collector UV Jose has sought the permission of the High Court to temporarily stop the functioning of the district court here after its official, Madhusudhanan, died of Nipah on Wednesday. The bar association here had approached the collector with the request. Similar moves are being considered in neighbouring Malappuram district also.
School reopening uncertain
As the health department is preventing mass gatherings, the school reopening in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts is likely to be extended, against the earlier date of June 5. With the second outbreak claiming three lives already, a confirmation from the district collectors are awaited.
Fewer people in shops and on roads
With the public either cancelling or postponing public gatherings, the shops, especially supermarkets, in the district are witnessing fewer number of patrons. Meanwhile, scaremongers are reportedly active as they spread fear among the public through false messages regarding certain malls, stating that the staff there are affected.
Demand for medical emergency, separate hospital
As the Nipah outbreak is growing out of proportion, demands have risen from several corners to declare a medical emergency so as to convey alarm rather than persisting with the bid to portray a false image of safety. Experts also called for vacating the already less crowded government hospital and shift all the Nipah suspected cases to it, to avoid their contact with non-Nipah patients.
It is to be noted that the majority of the Nipah cases contracted the disease after visiting the medical college hospital, either as a patient or as a bystander.
