Man in Malappuram district died due to Nipah virus, says Kerala Health Minister
Malappuram, Sep 15: The 24-year-old man who died recently at a private hospital in Malappuram was infected with the Nipah virus, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Sunday.
George said the suspicion of Nipah infection arose after a death investigation conducted by the Regional Medical Officer.
"The available samples were immediately sent for testing and it turned out to be positive," the minister said in a video message.
The Malappuram native who reached the state from Bengaluru died on September 9, after which his available samples were sent for testing to Kozhikode Medical college hospital laboratory.
Malappuram health officials said the results from Kozhikode medical college indicated a positive result, after which a high-level meeting was held by the health minister on Saturday night itself and she initiated the necessary steps as per the protocol.
Meanwhile, the results from National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune on Sunday confirmed the infection.
The minister said 16 committees were formed on Saturday night itself and a contact list of 151 people has been identified.
She said the man had travelled with his friends to various places and the close contacts had been isolated.
"Minor fever and symptoms were found in five of those under isolation and their samples have been sent for testing," the minister said.
A boy from Malappuram, who was undergoing treatment for Nipah infection, died on July 21. It was the first confirmed case of Nipah infection in the state this year.
Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and in Ernakulam district in 2019, and the presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
