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Nipah Virus Death Toll In Kerala Rises To 12 As Government Says Situation Is Under Control

They have however asked people not to travel to the four affected districts of northern Kerala to be 'extra cautious'.
- via Getty Images

The death toll from the deadly Nipah virus rose to 12 on Thursday as one more person undergoing treatment died this morning.

The Hindu reported that 60-year-old V. Moosa, who was under treatment at the Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode, died this morning.

The report said that this was the fourth death in the family with Moosa's two sons and sister-in-law dying from the disease.

This comes even as the authorities said that the situation was under control. However, they said that people should avoid travelling to the four northern districts of Kerala -- Kozhikode, Malappuram, Waynad and Kannur -- to be 'extra cautious'.

Surveillance by Kerala Govt is being conducted in Kozhikode & in neighboring dists of Malappuram, Waynad & Kannur. Travelling to any part of Kerala is safe, however if travelers wish to be extra conscious they may avoid the districts mentioned above: Secy,Tourism dept #NipahVirus

— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2018

State health minister KK Shailaja told ANI that the Centre will send an expert team to the state within 2 days.

The Times of India reported that an all party meeting had been called to discuss the issue on May 25.

Nipah Scare In Himachal

Meanwhile, there were reports of a Nipah virus scare in Himachal Pradesh with 18 bats found dead in the state. The Nipah Virus, also known as NiV, is transferred to humans from fruit bats.

NDTV reported that the bats were found inside a government school.

While the school has said that this is a yearly phenomenon, this year the number of bats that died were higher. Samples were taken from the dead bats and sent for investigation.

District Chief Medical Officer Sanjay Sharma told NDTV, "We have informed the teachers, students of the school about the virus, its symptoms, and preventive measures. We told them to avoid physical contact in case of an outbreak, as this is a communicable disease."

This comes after there were reports of a scare in Karnataka as well.

Reuters had reported on Wednesday that two people who showed symptoms of being infected were kept under observation. They had come in contact with their relatives who had been infected when they had travelled to Kerala.

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