Health Minister Veena George on Saturday said Pune’s NIV (National Institute of Virology) has confirmed the Nipah virus  infection in the 14-year-old boy from Malappuram, who is currently under treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode.

“He will be shifted to the government medical college at Kozhikode. The contact tracing has begun. High-risk contacts have already been isolated and their samples have been sent for testing,”  Veena George told media persons in Malappuram. The child is now on a ventilator, she added.

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The Health Minister said the epicentre was Pandikkad in Malappuram  and that precautionary measures have already been initiated. She asked the people in the locality of the epicentre and the nearby hospitals to wear masks at public spaces and avoid visiting patients in hospitals.

Earlier on Saturday, Health Minister Veena George convened a high-level meeting to take steps to prevent a Nipah outbreak in the state. Various higher officials including the Health Secretary, National Health Mission state director, District Collectors of Kozhikode and Malappuram and health director took part in the meeting.

The health condition of the child is stated to be critical. He was treated in three hospitals in Malappuram. He was transferred from a private hospital in Perinthalmanna to MIMS Hospital, Kozhikode.

Following the confirmation of Nipah, the Health Department opened a control cell in Malappuram.

Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021, and 2023, and in Ernakulam district in 2019, and the presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram, and Ernakulam districts.