Some schools shut and curbs imposed on public gathering in Kerala after two people died of Nipah, a virus from bats or pigs that causes deadly fever.

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The virus has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Symptoms include intense fever, vomiting and a respiratory infection, but severe cases can involve seizures and encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, and result in a coma.

The Nipah virus strain seen in the state was the Bangladesh variant that spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious, the government said. “People living in forest areas have to take the highest precautions,” George had said, adding that the latest case of the Nipah virus originated within five kilometres of a jungle area.

In the wake of the rising Nipah virus cases, neighbouring Tamil Nadu state announced that travellers coming from Kerala would be subjected to medical tests and those with flu symptoms would be isolated.

700 people including 153 health workers who came in contact with those infected are under observation, health officials said.

A group of talented medical professionals from a private hospital in Puducherry saved a 20-year-old man’s life by successfully removing 13 hairpins, 5 safety pins, and 5 razor blades from his stomach via an endoscopic technique.

The young man was hospitalised with disturbing symptoms, including intense abdominal pain, blood vomiting, and strange bowel motions, according to the experts at the Gastroenterology and Medical Centre (GEM) Hospital. After further inspection, it was discovered that he had 13 hairpins, 5 safety pins, and 5 razor blades in his stomach.

“He has been dealing with psychiatric issues since childhood. Initially, he denied swallowing any foreign objects. However, during the endoscopic procedure, we discovered a hardened mass in his stomach. This collection of objects is referred to as a ‘foreign body bezoar,’ which could potentially lead to intestinal blockages and perforations,” explained Dr. K Sasikumar, a surgical gastroenterologist who led the medical team, as pee local media reports.

Facing this intricate situation, the team decided to opt for an endoscopic procedure instead of open surgery. Dr. K Sugumaran, another member of the team, stated, “The patient’s parents were also inclined towards avoiding open surgery. We proposed inserting a tube through the mouth to reach the stomach and safely remove these sharp objects. It was a challenging procedure given the nature of the objects.”

The patient was admitted to the hospital on August 7, and the procedure, lasting approximately two hours, took place on August 8. Fortunately, the patient responded positively to the treatment, and he was discharged the following day, on August 9. He even resumed a regular oral diet on the very same evening, as confirmed by Dr. K Sasikumar.

The dedicated medical team responsible for this extraordinary accomplishment included medical gastroenterologist Dr. G Rajesh and anesthesiologist Dr. Ranjith. Dr. C Palanivelu, Chairman of GEM Hospitals, praised the team for their outstanding efforts in saving the young man’s life.

Doctors suspect that the patient consumed these sharp objects after mixing them with food. The condition of the patient is stable and he has been discharged from hospital.

A Jaundice outbreak has been reported at Riyar area of Khansahib block in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, where one person has died so far and seven others have tested positive for the disease.

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A health official told that so far eight jaundice cases have been reported in the area and among them one person has died while the condition of seven others is stable.

He said that a 10-year-old boy identified as Abid, son of Ab Salam from Riyar village of Khansahib, who was tested positive for jaundice, died two days before following a jaundice outbreak, triggered by the supply of contaminated water.

Dr Mir Mushtaq, Spokesperson of Directorate of Health Services Kashmir (DHSK) told that untiring efforts are being made at Raiyar for curbing jaundice by the surveillance and rapid response teams of block Khansahib.

He said that teams under control of Incharge Medical Officer Raiyar, Dr Ishfaq Ahmad Banday are doing a tremendous job and have screened hundreds of people for detection of raising of serum Bilirubin.

“Simultaneously on the other hand, paediatric patients have been seen by the Pediatrician at SDH, Khansahib and have conducted blood tests at SDH for detecting this disease,” he said.

He added that the screening process is on and thousands of people have been screened so far in this area and the situation is well under control.

He added that 1430 patients have been screened so far, 370 screened by paediatricians, 123 samples taken for investigation of jaundice, 30 patients are under surveillance, 160 samples taken for LFT, 438 samples taken for serum bilirubin, 10 taken for coagulogram were found normal and three water samples were taken by IDSP.

The remote area is located approximately eight kilometres from Block Headquarter and around 26 km from District Headquarter Budgam. The nearest health facility available is the PHC Riyar.

“Situation regarding the intensity of this disease is well under control,” he said.

ASHAs of concerned areas along with health workers have been distributing chlorine tablets and ORS packets among the inhabitants at door steps while field staff are continuously educating the people to take safe drinking water and also demonstrating the steps of hand washing to the people of this area,” Mir Mushtaq said.

“Keeping in view the customs, beliefs of these Tribals, IEC and effective communication skills needs to be communicated for some more days in order to convince the tribal people to maintain and enhance the hygiene & take boiled water,” he added. KNO