Kozhikode: Health Minister Veena George on Saturday said that the threat of the Nipah virus has been neutralised in Kerala, yet again.
In a video message, the minister said that the health department has not found any new cases in the Kozhikode district that had witnessed a fresh case on September 4.
A 12-year-old boy, Mohammed Hashim, who was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode, had succumbed to the infection on September 5.
"Since then, 42 days have passed. The incubation period is 21 days. Now, we have survived a double incubation period and in this time no other case emerged," the minister said.
Veena George thanked health workers and said that within a year, Nipah preventive activities will be strengthened in the state.
"A Biosafety Level 3 Lab will be set and active encephalitis surveillance will be ensured. Besides, the work on the isolation block at the Kozhikode medical college will be completed in a year," the minister said.
In 2018, 21 persons in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts had died from a Nipah outbreak. In 2019, a case was reported in Ernakulam.