The Animal Husbandry Department is yet to get any official directive on the proposed surveillance of bats on river banks from Kasaragod to Ernakulam against the backdrop of recurring cases of Nipah infection in the state.
The infection was reported in Kerala thrice in two years since 2018. Kozhikode reported the first outbreak and a single case and a death occurred here in September this year too. Some of the victims in 2018 were from Malappuram district. In 2019, another single case was reported in Ernakulam district. Incidentally, it has been a month since Mohammed Hashim, the 12-year-old native of Pazhoor near Chathamangalam in the district, succumbed to the infection.
K.K. Baby, District Coordinator, Animal Disease Control Project Office, Kozhikode, said here on Tuesday that the periodic surveillance was supposed to be a joint exercise by the Veterinary, Forest, and Health departments. It was to determine the presence of the Nipah virus. The State Institute of Animal Diseases too was planned to be roped in. The proposal was moved by Health Minister Veena George. “There is no official word on the bat surveillance,” he added. The Health Department too does not seem to have any idea about it.
Nipah virus antibodies (IgG antibodies) were detected in bat samples collected by the National Institute of Virology, Pune, from Kodiyathoor and Thamarassery recently. A sample belonging to the Pteropus species, collected from Thamarassery, was found to have the antibodies, while similar ones were detected in another sample from the Rousettus species collected from Kodiyathoor. The results of over 50 bat samples collected as part of the outbreak investigation are still awaited. There is lack of clarity on further epidemiological studies. Also, how the virus got transmitted to humans is yet to be conclusively proven. Public health experts have been demanding a permanent surveillance system to detect similar zoonotic infections.
