Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian on Sunday said Tamil Nadu has taken steps to monitor people arriving from Kerala in nine border districts who have died due to Nipah virus infection in the neighboring state. According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, a 12-year-old child died of Nipah virus infection at a hospital in Kozhikode on Sunday.
“Already we are monitoring nine districts bordering Kerala. We are running door-to-door awareness campaigns in the districts on the spread of Zika virus. In view of Nipah virus, we have issued an advisory to the district health authorities to expedite measures like organizing fever camps,” he told reporters.
The minister said the health officials of nine districts would conduct thermal screening of passengers, test their saturation levels, besides conducting fever camps at entry points in the border districts.
“Already, we are allowing people to enter (Tamil Nadu) only if they do not have a Covid-19 vaccination certificate nor an RT-PCR negativity report,” he said.
Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said people entering Tamil Nadu from Kerala were not only screened for COVID-19 but also for other communicable diseases like Zika, Nipah.
“We are continuously monitoring the people entering Tamil Nadu. There is no need to panic because of Nipah virus. But at the same time they should not show negligence (in following the government advisory).”
Health department officials of nine districts bordering Kerala were urged to monitor all communicable diseases, especially Zika and Nipah.
“Deputy directors have been informed and local bodies in border areas should be alert about these diseases,” said a message sent to district health officials.
Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus – it is transmitted from animals to humans – fruit bats and pigs – and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
When asked about some school students and teachers testing positive for Covid-19 after schools reopened on September 1, Radhakrishnan said they might have contracted the virus earlier.
“…these people (teachers and students testing Covid-19 positive), may have contracted the virus before coming to the schools. There is still prevalence of the Covid-19 virus… people should strictly follow the COVID-19 protocol,” he said.
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