देश

Death toll rises to 10 in North Kerala; Centre monitoring situation

The death toll due to the deadly Nipah Virus in Kerala rose to 10 on Tuesday, while two more people undergoing treatment were in critical condition, the state government said.

All the deaths were reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of north Kerala and the state government had informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the outbreak.

“Two persons—Rajan and Ashokan, who were undergoing treatment at Kozhikode, died this morning, have been confirmed to have contracted the virus. A nursing assistant, Lini, who died Monday had also contracted the virus,” PTI quoted state Health Minister KK Shylaja as saying.

The health minister informed that so far, 12 people have been tested positive for the virus, of which 10 have died. Two deaths reported on May 20 from Malappuram—Sindhu and Sijitha, have tested positive for Nipah virus.

The two had come to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for treatment and had been in touch with one of the infected persons who had died of the virus, the minister said.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda had enquired about the situation in the state and promised all the possible help from the central government, she said.

The Centre has rushed teams of National Centre for Disease -Control (NCDC), National Institute of Virology and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme to contain the outbreak of Nipah Virus.