A 14-year-old boy from Kerala, a state in southern India, has died from a Nipah virus infection, according to officials. Kerala’s Health Minister, Veena George, confirmed that the boy had been undergoing treatment but passed away in the city of Kozhikode on Sunday.
Kerala stated that the patient experienced a cardiac arrest and that “the attempts to revive him were unsuccessful”.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. It can also spread through contaminated food or directly between people.
The virus leads to severe illness, comprising encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and respiratory disease, and is associated with a high fatality rate.
Currently, there is no precise treatment or vaccine for Nipah virus infection; management primarily focuses on supportive care and preventive criteria to prevent outbreaks.
This is not the first instance of Nipah virus cases in southern India’s Kerala. In 2023, the World Health Organisation reported six confirmed Nipah infections in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, which included two fatalities.
The virus has previously resulted in outbreaks in the region, highlighting ongoing worries about its recurrence and the challenges in controlling its spread.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: One dead, another nabbed as Ghana’s ‘Paralympic team’ absconds in Norway