Nipah virus: Kerala issues alert after 14-year-old girl dies

Health authorities in the Indian state of Kerala have issued an alert after a 14-year-old boy died from the Nipah virus.

According to the state health minister, an additional 60 people have been identified as being in a high-risk category for the disease.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the boy was from Pandikad town and those who had come in contact with him had been isolated and tested.

He asked the people of the area to take the necessary precautions, such as wearing masks in public places and refraining from visiting people in the hospital.

Nipah virus infection is a “zoonotic disease” transmitted from animals such as pigs and fruit bats to humans, according to the World Health Organization.

It can also be transmitted through contaminated food and through contact with an infected person.

The World Health Organization has described the virus as a priority pathogen because of its potential to cause a pandemic.

The virus has been linked to dozens of deaths in Kerala state since it first emerged there in 2018.

The 14-year-old boy died on Sunday, just one day after he was confirmed to have contracted the virus, according to Indian media reports.

It can also be transmitted through contaminated food and through contact with an infected person.

Parts of Kerala are said to be the most vulnerable state in the world to the virus. Published by Reuters last year The study found that Kerala, a tropical state with rapid urbanization and rapid tree loss, created “ideal conditions for the emergence of a virus like Nipah.”

Experts say animals are living in close proximity to humans due to habitat loss, which helps the virus jump from animals to humans.

The state government recently announced that it is creating an action plan to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus.