A 10-member central team from the Union Health Ministry has arrived in Kerala to assess the growing Nipah virus threat in the northern districts of Malappuram and Palakkad. The team, part of the National Joint Outbreak Response Team, is coordinating with state authorities to strengthen containment and surveillance efforts.
Led by Dr. Pranay Verma, Joint Director at the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the expert panel includes scientists from the ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, along with wildlife, veterinary, and animal welfare experts. They began their on-ground assessment on Wednesday with a visit to Malappuram, holding discussions with District Medical Officer Dr. R. Renuka and health officials.
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An additional eight-member team from NIV, headed by Dr. E. Dilip Patil, is currently stationed in Palakkad and will soon begin surveillance of local bat populations, believed to be the natural carriers of the Nipah virus.
Meanwhile, Kozhikode Government Medical College continues to treat the lone surviving Nipah patient from Palakkad. One Nipah-related death, involving a Malappuram resident, was confirmed last week.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George reported that 498 individuals are currently on the state’s Nipah contact list—203 from Malappuram, 177 from Palakkad, 116 from Kozhikode, and two from Ernakulam. In a recent relief, a 78-year-old woman under observation in Malappuram tested negative for the virus.
During a high-level review meeting on Wednesday, the minister mandated the rigorous continuation of preventive measures under the ‘Nipah protocol calendar’ until September. The state continues active contact tracing, testing, and isolation procedures to prevent further spread.
Kerala has witnessed multiple Nipah outbreaks recently, prompting increased coordination between state and central agencies in response to even isolated cases.
