One more Nipah virus case was confirmed in Kerala’s  Kozhikode on Friday taking the total number of infected persons since the outbreak to five.

A 39-year-old man, currently under observation at a private hospital, tested positive for the Nipah virus. The virus was  transmitted to him through direct contact with an infected person who died on 30  August.

With this Nipah case confirmed, the state Health Department has intensified its preventive activities. The department has decided to test all the high-risk contacts of the first person. They will be checked even if they have no symptoms.

State Health Minister Veena George said on Friday that the nine-year-old boy who is undergoing treatment is on ventilator but his condition is now stable.

Meanwhile, the high-level teams from the Centre and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, which  reached Kozhikode to review the status of the Nipah outbreak, held a review meeting with senior officials representing the state government on Friday.

A Central team visited the affected villages on Friday to conduct a scientific study on the source of the  Nipah virus and the measures to be adopted to contain its spread. The team  visited  the house of  the  native of Maruthonkara ,who died  after contracting Nipah virus.

The Central team, after visiting the house of the deceased  and its surroundings, also visited the houses of the deceased’s  relatives and the nearby  places where the dead person might have gone. They also inspected the fruit trees in the nearby garden.