14-year-old boy in Kerala under treatment for Nipah passes away
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Kozhikode: Kozhikode: A 14-year-old native of Malappuram Pandikkad, who was undergoing treatment for the Nipah virus at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital passed away.
The child was shifted to the Nipah isolation ward of the medical college yesterday. He died around 11.30 am even as the monoclonal antibody was about to be delivered from Australia today.
Health Minister Veena George said that funeral rites will be conducted as per Nipah death protocol. The death toll from Nipah in the state has reached 21 in six years.
On July 10, a 14-year-old native of Pandikkad developed a fever. He sought treatment at a private clinic on the 12th. On the 13th, he was taken to a private hospital in Pandikkad. He was admitted to the same private hospital on the 15th, but was later transferred to a private hospital in Perinthalmanna and then to a private hospital in Kozhikode.
The virus was confirmed when the sample collected at a private hospital in Kozhikode was tested. Later yesterday, he was shifted to the isolation ward of the medical college.
214 people in contact with the child are under observation. About 60 of them are in the high-risk category. These include the doctors who treated him, the hospital staff, and the child's relatives. The health workers under observation are the doctor of the clinic who first treated the boy, the doctor of the private hospital in Pandikkad and around 10 health workers.
Health workers are preparing a list of all the people who have been in contact with the patient since the onset of symptoms. A list of those who have come to hospitals, teachers and students of schools and tuition centres who have sought treatment is being prepared. About 50 health workers have started functioning in Pandikkad.
A 13-year-old boy who was on the contact list of a child who died due to Nipah has been admitted to the observation ward of Manjeri Medical College Hospital.
The child was taken to the hospital in an ambulance at 5 pm on Saturday. His sample will be collected for expert testing. It will then be sent to the virology lab at Kozhikode Medical College. Currently, the child has contracted jaundice. The hospital authorities informed that the condition of health remains satisfactory.