Surveillance for Nipah virus to continue till October 10

Mangaluru: Health and family welfare minister Dinesh Gundurao said the surveillance at the Kerala border for the Nipah virus will continue till October 10. This decision has been taken based on the lapse in the incubation period of the last Nipah case reported in Kerala.
The minister told reporters after holding a meeting with the health officials of Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts, that share a border with Kerala, at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Wednesday, that the state is taking all precautionary measures against the virus, though no suspected Nipah cases have been reported so far.
He said that all government and private hospitals in the border areas are on high alert. More than 20 checkposts have been set up in these four districts, and over 10,000 people have been screened for fever. Villages in the border areas that are within 150km of the Nipah outbreak centre in Kerala, have been put on high alert. Since movement between Mangaluru and Kerala is high, the issue is being monitored closely, the minister said.
“We are on alert because the Nipah fatality rate is around 40-70% and the treatment is symptomatic. The surveillance will continue till October 10, when the incubation period of the last Nipah case (September 15) reported so far from Kerala ends,” he said.
Further, the minister said the authorities have been asked to take necessary measures with regard to facilities for quarantine, isolation ward, masks, kits and necessary items to deal with Nipah cases.
Janata Darshan
District minister Dinesh Gundurao will hold a Janata Darshan at Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall in Mangaluru on Monday. He asked people to make good use of the programme, to get their grievances addressed. Every application will be given a number, and will be tracked till the end result, he said.