Hours after Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja confirmed a youth of having tested positive for Nipah virus (NiV), Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said the Centre has assured Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of all possible support.

The Centre on Monday dispatched a team of six officers to Kerala for epidemiological investigation protocol, contact tracing for early detection of suspects, testing protocols for suspects and review of isolation facilities.

Harsh Vardhan further said the Government was also in touch with the wildlife department to seek their help for subjecting the bats for testing of the virus and assured that there was no reason to panic.

He has also called a meeting with all the officers including health secretary at his residence today.

A Control Room has been set up and NCDC Strategic Health Operations Centre (SHOC) was activated with phone number 011-23978046, a Ministry statement said.

A team from NIV, Pune (ICMR) with Monoclonal Antibodies was set to reach Ernakulam. A team from NIV for testing bats for Nipah virus was also dispatched.

A youth who was being treated near Kochi was confirmed to have contracted the virus after a positive report by the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

However, the condition of the person is said to be stable.

According to reports, over 80 people have been put under observation.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said out of 86 patients suspected, two persons have been admitted for treatment. She said two nurses who treated the patient initially have sore throat and fever and are under treatment.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed that the government is closely monitoring the situation. The CM has also requested everyone to follow the instructions of the health department.

In May last year, the Nipah (NiV) virus attack had claimed 17 lives in Kerala with the majority cases being reported from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), fruit bats were found to be the source of Nipah virus which created havoc in Kerala’s Kozhikode in May last year.

Tests on the first batch of 21 bats were negative. However, the second set of tests done on 55 fruit bats from Kozhikode confirmed that the nocturnal mammals were behind the spread.