The ban on all fruits and vegetables imported from the Indian state of Kerala, issued in May by the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, has been lifted since Wednesday evening.
The Ministry announced lifting the ban through a statement on its social media channels on Wednesday evening.According to the statement, "Shipments of the fresh vegetables and fruits from Kerala should be attached with a certificate confirming that it is free from infection with the virus as an additional document with each shipment to the UAE."
The Ministry had imposed the ban on May 29 after the south Indian state reported the outbreak of the deadly brain-damaging disease. According to the World Health Organisation, the natural host of the virus is a fruit bat of the Pteropodidae family.
Scientists at the India’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) had earlier said the Nipah virus did not spread through fruits. Khaleejtimes.com reported on National Institute of Virology(NIV) director and senior scientist Devendra Mourya saying: “Viruses are obligatory parasites. They cannot multiply in fruits. Like any other virus, the Nipah virus needs animal or human cells to survive and multiply.”
