Kochi, July 15 -- The health officials in Kerala have strengthened ward-level surveillance for people suffering from fever and intensified the tracing of contacts by scanning CCTV cameras and hospital outpatient registers after a second person tested positive for Nipah virus in the past two weeks, officials familiar with the matter said.

Kerala, which first reported Nipah outbreak in 2018, has recorded four cases this year so far, of which two have died, one recovered and the other is undergoing treatment.

The latest death was that of a 57-year-old man, a resident of Kumaramputhur near Mannarkkad in Palakkad district, at a private hospital in Perinthalmanna on July 12. He was tested positive on Sunday night, propelling officials to rein...