Nipah virus in Kerala: Two others, including 9-yr-old boy, test positive after 2 deaths; Central team rushed in

Two people have been killed due to the Nipah virus and two others have been infected in Kerala's Kozhikode district, the state government informed on Tuesday.

"Nipah virus infection has been confirmed in Kozhikode district. Two people died due to infections. Of the four people whose saliva was sent for testing, two were Nipah positive and two were Nipah negative," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

The Chief Minister urged people to not panic and take precaution instead.

"Everyone should strictly follow the instructions of the health department and the police and fully cooperate with the restrictions," he said.

Separately, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that there are two active cases as of now in the district.

The active case of patients includes a nine-year-old and a 24-year-old relative of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the Central government on Tuesday sent a team of health experts to Kerala as Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya confirmed that the two "unnatural deaths" in the state were due to the Nipah virus.

The first death took place on August 30 and the second death on September 11. The man who died on August 30 was 44 years old, while the second person who died was a 40-year-old man.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah virus is caused by fruit bats and is potentially fatal to humans as well as animals. Along with respiratory illness, it is also known to cause fever, muscular pain, headache, fever, dizziness and nausea.

Nipah virus was first recognised in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in, Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999, as per WHO.

(With agency inputs)

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