Residents of the Indian state of Kerala have been urged not to eat fruits, gnawed on by bats. Furthermore, they should thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before consumption. This alert has been issued by India’s Health Department ahead of the Nipah virus (NiV) transmission season running between December and June.
According to express.co.uk¸ Kerala’s Labour and Excise Minister TP Ramakrishan spoke to crowds at Perambrataluk Hospital to reiterate the advice on Saturday. An outbreak of the deadly infection, spread by bats, hit the northern district of Kozhikode last May, before spreading to nearby Kerala.
The highly-contagious disease claimed the lives of 17 people by June 1st, before being contained, stated the World Health Organisation. Now Indian government officials fear it could return, with education being the only way to warn people of its lethal effects.
NiV is a virus meaning it can be passed form animals to humans, either by contaminated food or through direct contact. Human-to-human transmission is also possible, with about 50 percent of cases in a Bangladesh outbreak spread this way.
