Nipah virus in Kerala: Harsh Vardhan reviews public health measures, says situation under control

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who reviewed the public health measures put in place in Kerala after a college student tested positive for Nipah virus, Wednesday said the situation is under control and people need not panic.

The 21-year-old college student's case is this year's first in Kerala. Last year, Nipah virus killed 17 people in the state.

"I urge the people not to panic as the government is leaving no stone unturned to remedy the situation. I am personally reviewing the situation with Health Minister of Kerala, K K Shailaja, on a regular basis,"Vardhan said.

The key focus of Wednesday's review meeting was updating of contact list (line listing with contact details), daily follow-up for symptoms and self-monitoring, the health ministry said in a statement.

The team also discussed SOPs for quarantine of symptomatic contacts, sample collection or testing and dedicated isolation facility with trained health staff for care of cases and epidemiological investigation by ...