A 14- year-old boy, who tested positive for Nipah virus, died at the Kozhikode Medical College in Kerala on Sunday, July 21. The boy, who is a resident of Pandikkad in Malappuram district, was in a critical condition. He had suffered a massive cardiac arrest around 10.50 am and died at 11.30 am, Health Minister Veena George informed. 

A day earlier, the Health Minister confirmed that the 14-year-old boy has tested positive for Nipah virus. The patient was initially availing treatment at a private clinic in Malappuram on July 12 and later shifted to a private hospital in Perinthalmanna. After suspecting that he may have Nipah virus, the patient was finally shifted to Kozhikode Medical College. 

Addressing the media on July 21, Veena George said that the government has completed the procedure to collect the monoclonal antibody from Australia and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) received it on July 20. “ICMR shipped the medicine yesterday evening and it arrived here,” she added. Usually the medicine should be given to the patient within five days after contracting the virus. But the boy died before administering the medicine. 

The funeral will be conducted as per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Nipah protocol, authorities informed. 

Meanwhile, the health department published the route map of the boy and isolated people who came in his contact. The father and uncle of the child are in the Kozhikode medical college and four others listed in the high-risk category undergoing treatment at the Manjeri Medical College Hospital. According to the minister, one among them is admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to viral fever. 

The Health Minister also stated that the number of people with symptoms are very less and that it is a positive sign that the virus is not spreading much. “We will conduct tests for everyone. People with symptoms will be tested first,” she said.