Palakkad: Amid concerns over three confirmed Nipah cases in Kerala, Health Minister Veena George said on Saturday that 67 people have been removed from the contact list of the patients. Currently, 581 individuals from Malappuram, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts are on the contact list. Palakkad, where two Nipah cases were confirmed, tops the list with 420 people. Kozhikode and Malappuram follow with 96 and 63 people, respectively. One person each is under surveillance in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.

Among those under surveillance, 29 are categorised as being at the highest risk, while 78 are listed as high risk.

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In Malappuram district, 14 individuals are receiving treatment in isolation wards. Of the 67 people removed from the contact list, 47 are from Malappuram, 19 from Kozhikode, and one from Palakkad. In Palakkad district, a total of 13 people are currently undergoing treatment.

At a high-level meeting, the Health Minister instructed the medical board to decide on the declaration of containment zones.

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On July 12, Kerala reported its second confirmed Nipah virus death, after a 57-year-old man from Mannarkkad in Palakkad passed away at a private hospital in Malappuram. This marked the third Nipah case reported in the state in July. The state was placed on high alert after a 17-year-old Plus Two student from Malappuram died of Nipah infection at a private hospital in Kozhikode on July 1. The second case was confirmed in Palakkad, where a 38-year-old woman tested positive for the virus.

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