While we are heaving a sigh of relief that we have somehow recovered from the covid 19 pandemic, “Nipah” has started to threaten us. We can’t sleep peacefully when our neighbor’s house is on fire. In the neighboring state of Kerala, two lives have been claimed by the Bangladeshi type of Nipah, so urgent precautionary measures are necessary.
2018- The first ever deadly Nipah outbreak occurred in the state of Kerala in 2018. 17 people including frontline workers of the health department died due to the spread of Nipah virus. In 2019 and 2021, the symptoms and effects of Nipah virus were seen here and there, but due to previous experience, the health department of the Kerala state immediately stopped it.
Since the outbreak of Nipah in Kerala in 2019, Tamil Nadu’s health department has intensified preventive measures in the border areas of the state . Even now, the health minister has said that all measures have been taken across the state to prevent the danger.
This time, the doctors who did the initial examination of the patient who came to the Kozhikode Government Hospital with normal fever symptoms, did not suspect Nipah. So, Nipah Deenunmi grew exponentially in the patient’s body without being controlled for 12 days. It took his life. It was only when a second patient with the same symptoms died that doctors began to suspect Nipah.
The immediate action taken by the hospital management and doctors is commendable. The Kerala State Health Department has also immediately put in place special action regulations and tightened surveillance across the state.
It has become difficult for the human race to protect itself from diseases caused by animals. In its 2021 report, the international scientific journal “Nature” has identified the hilly regions of India as one of the hotspots for animal-to-human transmission. Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are all three
. Increases the chance of infectious diseases,” notes the journal Nature.
As the forest area decreases due to human settlement and encroachment, the wild animals and birds living in the forests are forced to enter the human inhabited areas. Due to the reduction of forest cover, it is natural for animals that spread pests, including fruit-eating weevils, to seek refuge in areas inhabited by humans.
Monk
