A 12-year-old boy, who had been admitted to a hospital in Kerala’s Kozhikode with symptoms of Nipah virus on Saturday, died in the morning. “Unfortunately, the boy passed away at 5 in the morning. The condition of the child was critical yesterday night. We formed various teams yesterday night and have started the tracing. Steps have been taken to isolate those who are the primary contact of the boy,” health minister Veena George told the media.

The first Nipah virus disease (NiV) outbreak in South India was reported in the Kozhikode district of Kerala on May 19, 2018. The state had witnessed 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases till June 1, 2018.

The samples of the boy were sent to the Pune National Institute of Virology. The presence of Nipah virus was later confirmed. “The results of tests done at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on all three samples Plasma, CSF (Cerebrospinal fluid) and Serum – came positive for Nipah virus late Saturday night,” she said.

Following the death of the 12–year-old, a Central team of the National Centre for Disease Control  has left for Kerala. 

“A Central team has been rushed to Kerala after a 12-year-old boy died due to Nipah virus infection in the state’s Kozhikode district,” the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

The team will provide technical support to the state, the ministry said. The case has made the Centre advise certain immediate public health measures, including an active case search in the family, families, village and areas with similar topography, especially in Malappuram.

“The measures also include active contact tracing for any contacts in the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts and isolation of any suspects and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing,” the ministry said.

Nipah virus is spread by saliva of the fruit bats.