Malappuram: The district has been on high alert after the Union Health Ministry confirmed a Nipah virus outbreak in the neighbouring Kozhikode district on Tuesday.
During the first Nipah outbreak in 2018, Malappuram was the worst affected district after Kozhikode in the state.
District Collector V R Premkumar convened a high-level meeting to review the situation in Malappuram after two deaths in Kozhikode were confirmed to have been caused by Nipah.
The proximity and dependency of Malappuram on Kozhikode make the district one of the hotspots every time an epidemic is confirmed.
In 2018, three people died after contracting the virus at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and a private hospital. Hence, the district administration will evaluate whether people from Malappuram visited the hospitals on the same day as the persons affected with Nipah were admitted there.
“We are waiting for the contact list of the persons who died due to Nipah. There are a large number of people from Malappuram who depend on the private hospital in Kozhikode where one of the deceased was admitted. We are yet to ascertain whether anyone from the district came in contact with him. But we have decided to increase vigil so as to deal with any crisis situation,” District Medical Officer R Renuka said.
