Centre confirms two Nipah virus deaths in Kerala, experts dispatched to assist state government

The Central Government on September 12 confirmed that two persons have died while four others are under treatment after contracting Nipah virus in Kerala's Kozhikode district. 

The four persons undergoing treatment in Kerala for the virus are said to be close relatives of the one the victims and suspected to have contracted the virus from the victim.

Meanwhile, confirming the two deaths, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on September 12 said a team of experts from the centre have been sent to the state to assist the government and take stock of the situation.

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Earlier, the Department of Health had sounded an alert in the district following the two deaths.

For final testing and confirmation, samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune from the deceased and those receiving treatment for symptoms similar to Nipah virus infection. Health Minister Veena George who arrived at Kozhikode on Tuesday morning for a high-level meeting to review the situation, informed media that lab results of the samples would be available by evening.