Ernakulam: A year after the Nipah outbreak in Kerala left 17 people dead, Health Minister KK Shylaja on Tuesday confirmed that a man from the state has contracted the virus.
She confirmed that the 23-year-old student admitted to a private hospital has contracted the Nippah virus. The results of blood samples of the student were tested at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. The result came this morning, she said.
Earlier, blood samples examined at two virology institutes--Manipal Institute of Virology and Kerala Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases--had indicated Nipah.
The student, hailing from Ernakulam district, had studied in a college in Thodupuzha in Idukki and had stayed in Thrissur recently in connection with a camp.
According to Thrissur District Medical Officer, Dr Reena, the student was in Thrissur only for four days and had been suffering from fever.
There were 16 other students with him and six of them, who came in direct contact with him, are under observation, she said.
Read: Nipah virus alert in Kerala: Know about its symptoms, treatment
