Kochi, July 8 -- The southernmost Indian state of Kerala is bracing for a potential outbreak of Nipah, a zoonotic virus transmitted from animals to humans, and also through contaminated food or direct human-to-human contact.
The incubation period for the virus ranges from 5 to 14 days, after which symptoms become visible. The Nipah virus has a high case fatality rate, ranging from 40% to 75% in humans, said Dr Naresh Purohit, advisor to the National Communicable Disease Control Programme.
The recent death of an 18-year-old girl from Chettiyarangadi in Malappuram was confirmed by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) as caused by Nipah infection, while a 38-year-old woman from Thachanattukara in Palakkad district also tested ...