Nipah virus identified in Kozhikode fever deaths, Central team on way
Kozhikode/Thiruvananthapuram, May 20: The cause of death of two people, ostensibly suffering from fever, in Kozhikode has now been confirmed to be due to the Nipah virus (NiV), spread by fruit bats and causing severe disease in both animals and humans, a top official said on Sunday.
Kerala Health Secretary Rajiv Sadanandan told IANS that they have now got the confirmation from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
'A central team of the Indian Council of Medical Research is arriving at Kozhikode tomorrow (Monday). There is no reason for any panic at all, as this can be managed and we have already started our work towards that. There was a similar issue in Bangladesh and it has been managed well. We have already informed the Centre about this,' he said.
While three members of a family at Perambara in Kozhikode died within weeks after what seemed to be common fever aggravated quickly, two more family members were being treated at the Medical College hospital and one of them has also tested positive. Two more deaths, due to fever, were reported from Kozhikode on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said the cause of death of the three family members was being ascertained.
'The samples were first sent to a laboratory in Manipal and it suggested that it was a rare virus... after that for detailed tests, the samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology and the results are awaited...," she told media at Kochi.
Transmission of Nipah virus takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs, or from other NiV-infected people and people have been also cautioned that they should not consume fruits that have fallen on to the ground.
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Bhambri-Goransson's dream run at Indian Wells ends in semifinals
Indian Wells (USA) (PTI): Indian doubles ace Yuki Bhambri and his Swedish partner Andre Goransson's impressive campaign came to an end after losing in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters in California.
The unseeded pair went down 5-7, 7-6(7), 5-10 to France's Arthur Rinderknech and Monaco's Valentin Vacherot in a closely-fought contest that was decided by a tie-breaker.
Bhambri and Goransson started strongly but were edged out in the opening set.
The Indo-Swedish duo fought back to force a decider after clinching a tight second-set in the tie-breaker.
However, Rinderknech and Vacherot held their nerve in the deciding tie-breaker to seal the victory.
Despite the defeat, the tournament marked a significant milestone for the 33-year-old Indian as it was his maiden semifinal appearance at an ATP Masters 1000 event.
Earlier in the tournament, Bhambri and Goransson had produced a strong performance to reach the last-four, defeating the Austrian-Italian pair of Alexander Erler and Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 7-6(7).
Their run also ended a two-year wait for an Indian presence in the semifinals of a Masters 1000 tournament since Rohan Bopanna won the title at the Miami Open in 2024.
