Malappuram: Nipah virus has been confirmed in Kerala for the fifth time in six years. In the latest case, a 14-year-old boy from the Pandikkad Panchayat in Malappuram has been confirmed with the bat-borne infection. Health Minister Veena George said on Saturday that the boy is undergoing treatment at the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode.

Restrictions have been implemented in the Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats. There are 214 persons under observation, of whom 60 are placed in the high-risk category.

Minister George said the presence of virus was confirmed by the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Two tests conducted in Kerala had turned positive earlier, the minister said.

"The Nipah protocol is already in place at Pandikkad and we would implement more restrictions as the case has been confirmed. A control room has been opened at Malappuram and a high-level team will conduct the surveillance. The contact list will be finalised as soon as we get the data from the health officials on the spot. The boy interacted with his classmates and went to two hospitals and one doctor for consultation. So the public there should be vigilant and the state is doing everything possible to tackle the situation,” the minister said.

The Monoclonal antibody sent from Pune is expected to reach Kozhikode on Sunday. A bat surveillance team from Bhopal would reach Pandikkad soon. The Health Department has arranged 30 rooms in the Manjeri Medical College Hospital for quarantine purposes if needed. They have also identified isolation wards in the nearby town.

Kerala first encountered the virus in May-June 2018 when 18 persons tested positive in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. Only one of the infected survived in 2018. The zoonotic illness was reported in Kerala in 2019, 2021 and 2023 as well. In 2021, a 12-year-old boy in Kozhikode died of the infection. In 2023, six cases were reported, of whom two died. On each occasion, the state managed to bring down the fatality rate.