Man with Nipah symptoms under observation in Goa hospital
Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has kept under observation a patient, who arrived in Panaji from Kerala and was found having symptoms of Nipah virus. State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said it wasn't yet confirmed if the man was infected with the virus. The blood samples of the patient were sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, Rane said.
13 dead so far in Kerala
The patient's identity was not disclosed by GMCH. "The patient himself suspected that he might be infected with the virus. So, adequate precaution has been taken by the hospital, as per the protocol drawn by the state government," a senior GMCH official said. The Nipah has so far claimed 13 lives in Kerala. Kerala has been put on high alert since the outbreak commenced.
How did it start?
The outbreak of the Nipah virus infection, a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans, is suspected to be from an unused well at Perambra in Kerala's Kozhikode district which was infested with bats.
