Fruit bats identified as source of Nipah virus spread
Thiruvananthapuram, July 3: Fruit bats were the source of Nipah virus which created havoc in Kerala's Kozhikode in May according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an official said on Tuesday.
Kerala Health Secretary Rajiv Sadanandan said that tests of the first batch of 21 bats were were negative, but the second set of tests done on 55 fruit bats from Kozhikode confirmed that the nocturnal mammals were behind the spread.
Sadanandan told IANS that Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Tuesday confirmed the latest test results.
At least 13 people died and more than 2,000 were kept under observation when the virus struck in May. Most of them were from Kozhikode district and some from Malappuram.
Even when the final green signal came from Kerala health authorities that the fear of the spread has been contained, the source of the virus outbreak was yet to be ascertained.
The ICMR is the country's premier body engaged in formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
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Four held in Kalaburagi for brutal murder of man
Kalaburagi: Four men have been arrested in Kalaburagi on charge of hacking a man with lethal weapons and pelting stones at him under the limits of Station Bazaar Police Station recently.
According to police sources, Anand Jalak Shinde (34), Ashitosh Jalak Shinde (30), Imran Mehboob Sheikh (28) and Sohaib Anwar Qureshi have been arrested. The men are accused of the brutal murder of Syed Mehboob, a resident of Station Bazaar Upper Line Hamalawadi in the city.
An FIR was filed by the Station Bazaar Police Station based on a complaint given by Syed Ismail, father of the deceased Syed Mehboob.
Following quick probe, the police team successfully arrested the suspects within 24 hours. The arrested men were produced in court and have been sent to judicial custody.
The City Police Commissionerate has appreciated in an official release the police team’s quick solving of the murder case and arrest of the four men accused of murdering Syed Mehboob.
