Death of Malappuram Girl Confirmed as Nipah; New Case Detected in Palakkad

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has confirmed two new cases of Nipah virus, including the death of an 18- year- old girl from Malappuram district and the infection of a 38 -year -old woman in Palakkad, prompting heightened health surveillance and emergency response measures across the affected regions.

The deceased girl, a native of Chettiyarangadi in Malappuram, had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode. Her initial test results suggested Nipah infection, which was later confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

Meanwhile, a woman from Thachanattukara in Palakkad also tested positive for Nipah on Friday, triggering an urgent advisory from health authorities urging the public and healthcare workers to remain extremely cautious.

In response, the Malappuram district administration launched an intensive surveillance drive across 20 wards in panchayats including Makkaraparamba, Kuruva, Kootilangadi, and Mankada. According to an official statement, 65 health teams visited 1,655 households during the drive. No new symptomatic cases were found during the survey.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George chaired a high-level meeting in Thiruvananthapuram to assess the situation. She reported that 425 individuals are currently on the Nipah contact list, 228 in Malappuram, 110 in Palakkad, and 87 in Kozhikode. Five of these individuals have been admitted to intensive care, while the test result of one person on the contact list has returned negative.

The Union Health Ministry is considering deploying the National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to assist Kerala’s containment efforts. The Central Surveillance Unit of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are maintaining close coordination with state officials and actively monitoring the outbreak.

The Kerala State Control Room has been activated to manage containment activities in line with the state's Nipah virus disease (NiVD) protocol, covering surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control.

Though the two confirmed cases are currently believed to be epidemiologically unlinked, health officials are investigating the possibility of a shared exposure or common social event, based on the timelines of symptom onset.