Kozhikode: A four-member central team on Friday visited the Nipah-affected Kuttiady region of Kozhikode as part of the efforts to trace the source of the virus infection.

The team also visited the house of the first victim, a 47-year-old native of Maruthonkara, who died on August 30. The team inspected the premises of the house.

Following confirmation that all five positive cases, including four active ones, were contacts of the index patient, the health department launched a probe to trace the initial source of infection.

The team inspected farms in the region that the deceased may have visited recently. The team examined fruits and other crops on the farm that attract fruit bats, which are considered to be the natural carriers of Nipah virus. The preliminary assessment is that the virus was transmitted from bats in the region.

Meanwhile, the central team also checked the travel history of the deceased.

On Thursday, a team of health officials from the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode collected samples of dropping of bats and other animals, half-eaten fruits and arecanut from the farms in the region.

The village of Kallad, which is not far from the a forest area called Janakikkad, is where the presence of Nipah virus was traced to during the initial outbreak in 2018.

The central team was led by Dr Subramanyam of the National Institute of Virology. Epidemiologist Dr. Hanul Thukral, Dr. M Santhosh Kumar and Gajendra Singh of National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi were the other members of the team.

The District Medical Technical Assistant, superintendent of Kuttiady Taluk Hospital and health officers of Kuttiady and Maruthonkara panchayats also accompanied the team.