PTI, KOZHIKODE: The Nipah virus has so far claimed three lives in Kerala while one person is undergoing treatment and 8 others are under observation in Kozhikode district, Health minister K K Shylaja today said.
The three deaths, which occurred over the past fortnight, were from the same family, including two siblings in their early twenties.
The man who is undergoing treatment for ‘Nipah’ is the father of the two brothers who died.
Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.
The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus.
A bat was found in the well of their house which has now been closed, the minister said.
A nursing assistant, Lini, who had treated three infected persons, died this morning.
However, it is yet to be confirmed if she had contracted the virus, which spreads through bats.
