Nipah virus: special ward opened at Coimbatore govt hospital

A special ward has been opened in the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital as a precautionary measure in the wake of outbreak of Nipah virus in Kozhikode district of Kerala.

A special medical team has been stationed at Walayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border as a number of people keep coming to the city from various places in Kerala, particularly Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode, official sources said.

The team is examining people entering Tamil Nadu, especially those with the symptoms of fever, the sources said.

Also, medical check-up is being conducted in border areas of Nilgiris district and Kerala, they said.

So far no cases have been reported from the borders, they said.

Fruit vendors have been asked not to sell fruits that had fallen from trees and those partially consumed by birds and animals.

Nipah virus spreads from animals to humans and there is no vaccination to contain the infection.