Officials inspect a well to catch bats in Kozhikode district in India's Kerala state after the outbreak. (CNN) — The death toll from an outbreak of Nipah virus has risen to 10 in India’s southern state of Kerala. Nine patients that tested positive for the virus have been quarantined and are being treated, Rajeev Sadanandan, additional chief secretary for the state’s Department of Health and Family Welfare, told CNN on Tuesday. The outbreak began in the northern district of Kozhikode and has spread to neighboring Malappuram district, Sadanandan said. Symptoms of Nipah virus can begin with headache and drowsiness but quickly transform into a coma within a matter of days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other symptoms include acute respiratory syndrome – where the lungs cannot get enough oxygen to the body – and fatal encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. There is no vaccine, and treatment is limited to supportive care. Among the dead was a nurse, identified as Lini, who was treating patients at Perambra Taluk Hospital in Kozhikode. In a tweet, the office of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan posted his condolences to her family, writing that the nurse’s “selfless service will be remembered.” CM condoled over the demise of Lini, the nurse who died of infection while taking care of Nipah virus affected patients. It is saddening to know that she lost her life while serving others. Her selfless service will be remembered. pic.twitter.com/RaE973xRJ2 — CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) May 22, 2018 The first cases were reported Saturday in a family from Kozhikode, and then India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Health Organization were contacted, Vijayan’s office said Monday via Twitter. Two brothers in their late 20s and their aunt, 50, died from the virus, while their father, 56, remains on life support. Statewide alert issued WHO said fruit bats were found in an unused well near the family’s house along with some rabbits being bred that had died recently. Nipah virus is known to infect both humans and animals, with certain species of fruit bat being natural hosts. People can become infected after contact with infected bats, or other animals, and humans. WHO added it was awaiting findings from experts to determine the source of infection and was in close contact with experts deployed to the affected areas to be “ready for any request for assistance.” A statewide alert has been issued to remain vigilant, and a 24-hour control room to monitor the situation has opened, Vijayan said. ’Dynamic situation’ A total of 60 samples have been tested for Nipah virus, which includes people who have already died as well as those who came into contact with patients confirmed to have the virus, Dr. Reena KJ, additional director of public health for Kerala, told CNN. That number is expected to rise, according to Sadanandan, the Kerala health official, who described it as a “dynamic situation.” Deaths in other districts where people had symptoms of the virus are also being tested. The state government has made assurances that the “health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected and prevent the advance of virus,” the chief minister’s office tweeted Monday. CM Pinarayi Vijayan has informed that Government is closely monitoring the spread of the Nipah virus. Health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected & prevent the advance of virus. — CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) May 21, 2018 A subsequent tweet urged private hospitals not to “deny treatment for anyone suffering from fever.” India’s health ministry has also deployed a response team to Kerala. JP Nadda, India’s minister of health and family welfare, said in a statement Monday that his department was “closely monitoring the situation” and had “dispatched a central team to assist the state government and initiate required steps.” About Nipah virus Nipah virus was first identified during a 1998-1999 outbreak in Malaysia, where almost 300 people were infected and more than 100 died, according to the CDC. More than 1 million pigs were euthanized to halt the spread of the illness. The virus was named after the village of Kampung Sungai Nipah, where pig farmers contracted the disease. There have been subsequent outbreaks in India and Bangladesh, with more than 600 reported human cases between 1998 and 2015, according to WHO. Many parts of Asia as well as Australia, Madagascar and Ghana are at risk of outbreaks. The virus is on WHO’s list of epidemic threats in need of urgent research and development. CNN’s Meera Senthilingam contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Also read : What is Nipah Virus? Symptoms, Prevention & Cure: Get to know all of it Health dept issues alert, opens control room in Koz Watch: Nipah virus claims nine lives in Kerala's Kozhikode KOZHIKODE: The National Virology Institute, Pune, confirmed that the contagious fever that has killed several people in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts over the last fortnight is due to Nipah virus ( NiV). Six more people succumbed to symptoms suspected to be that of Nipah virus on Sunday.On Monday morning, a 31-year-old nurse at Perambra Taluk hospital succumbed due to suspected symptoms of the virus taking the final toll to 10.A high-level central team will visit the district on May 21 and inspect areas where the disease has been reported.It is the first detection in Kerala of the Nipah virus which has a high fatality rate and spreads mainly through bats, pigs and other animals. Its symptoms include fever, vomiting, headache and respiratory problems. Rajeev Sadanandan, additional chief secretary, department of health & family welfare, told TOI that the virus was confirmed in tests conducted at the Pune institute on samples of the three deceased from a family at Changaroth panchayat. "We will now treat all persons presenting similar symptoms as potential Nipah-infected cases as part of disease surveillance," Sadanandan said.He said that the department has not been able to ascertain the extent of the spread of the disease as the virus has an incubation period of four to 18 days. Health workers have been asked to take the highest level of protection while handling patients. The death toll due to suspected Nipah virus infection rose to nine on Sunday with the death of six more persons who had shown symptoms of the disease. Of this, two deaths were reported from Kozhikode and four from Malappuram district. The deceased from Kozhikode have been identified as Ismail , 40, from Kootalida and Janaki, 50, from Perambra. The suspected Nipah virus deaths from Malappuram are Velayudhan, 48, from Kolathur, Sindhu, 32, from Munniyur, Lijitha, 22, from Thennala and a 13 year-old boy from Kottakkal.Malappuram district medical officer Dr K Sakeena said that the symptoms found in the deceased persons from the district were similar to that of Nipah virus infection and the blood samples of deceased have been sent to virology lab at Kasturba medical college, Manipal.The health department has activated precautionary measures and issued an alert to the public. "As the primary host of Nipah virus is fruit bats, the disease control and containment strategy include asking people to desist from eating bat eaten fruits. Also, the district collector has been asked to stop toddy tapping in the area as toddy can become contaminated with saliva or bat urine. Pigs too can serve as intermediate hosts of the virus and as per reports there are many pig farms in the area and steps have been taken in that regard," Sadanandan said.A district-level special task force headed by district collector U V Jose has been formed to coordinate precautionary steps and disease management activities. The district-level task force was formed at an emergency meeting chaired by director of health services (DHS) Dr R L Saritha at the collectorate on Sunday. Speaking to the media, Dr Saritha said that both government and private hospitals have decided to take joint measures to combat the rare viral disease.A single-window system has also put in place in the district to coordinate and monitor emergency treatment facilities. Dr Chandini, head of department of emergency medicine, Kozhikode Government Medical College hospital, will head the singlewindow mechanism. The DHS informed that a round-the-clock control room at the state level and another one in Kozhikode district were opened to help the public. The district-level control room can be reached at 0495-2376063.<doc-sep>At least 10 people have now died in southern India from confirmed cases of the deadly Nipah virus, officials have said. Dozens more have been quarantined amid public panic in the state of Kerala, and a team of experts has been dispatched to the coastal region from India’s National Centre for Disease Control in the capital, New Delhi. The World Health Organisation (WHO) told The Independent it was in close contact with local experts and awaiting further assessment reports. Dr Henk Bekedam, the body’s WHO Representative to India, praised the authorities for their “quick response to the situation”. At a news conference on Tuesday, Kerala’s health minister K K Shailaja said that of 18 people screened for the virus since the first death on Friday, 12 had tested positive and 10 had died. A nurse who treated suspected Nipah patients at a hospital in Perambra, 31-year-old Lini Puthusheri, was named as the tenth victim. A well in Kozhikode was reportedly full of bats, which are known carriers of the Nipah virus (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images) Though only identified in 1999, Nipah ranks alongside Ebola and Zika on the latest WHO list of diseases most likely to result in a catastrophic global pandemic. There is no vaccine or cure, and the virus is fatal in up to 70 per cent of cases. The virus can be transmitted from human to human. Fruit bats are seen to be the most common animal carriers in southern Asia, and previous outbreaks have stemmed from people drinking raw date palm sap in areas where the bats are active. J P Nadda, the health minister of India, said the central government was “extending full support to the state”. He said the team from the National Centre for Disease Control had arrived in Kerala on Tuesday, and that two more from leading medical facilities in Delhi would be arriving on Wednesday. Ms Shailaja said the health department in the state, which is a popular destination for tourists, was “hopeful we can put a stop to the outbreak”. “This is a new situation for us,” she said. “We have no prior experience in dealing with the Nipah virus.” Health officials said they found mangoes bitten by bats in a home in Kozhikode city, where three of the first patients died – all members of the same family. U V Jose, a local government official, said bats were found in a well used by the family. “We have closed the well and evacuated the people living nearby,” he said. Animal control agents have been ordered to collect bats for testing across the city. Neighbours and other residents had been concerned by the deaths and were “swarming” local hospitals, Mr Jose said. “A large number of people affected by fever, and even minor ailments, are swarming to hospitals, fearing they have contracted the disease. We’ve sought the help of private hospitals to tide over the crisis.” The nurse who died in Perambra, Ms Puthusheri, was praised for her “selfless service” by Kerala’s Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan. Ms Puthusheri had been “disturbed” by the death of her patient, her husband Sajeesh told The Hindu newspaper. He said she developed a fever herself “a day or two” later. Fears of transmission meant she was unable to speak to her husband or two young children in person before her death, and the health department requested her body be immediately cremated rather than returned to her community. Kerala’s tourism minister, Kadakampally Surendran, was among many who shared on social media a letter Ms Puthusheri wrote to her husband from her isolation unit. In a mixture of English and the local Malayalam language, she told him: “I think I am almost on my way. I may not be able to see you again. Sorry. Please look after our children.” The WHO says Nipah has an incubation period of five to 14 days before people show symptoms, which can make it harder to stop the infection from spreading. “Tracing all contacts of the affected persons in the recent past, testing and observing them, and treating them early, is the key to rapidly curtail the spread of the disease and minimise fatalities,” Dr Bekedam said. He added that it was vital for hospitals to put in place “good infection control practices”. “WHO has provided guidelines and information on Nipah virus to the government and stands ready for any other request for assistance,” he said.<doc-sep>A virus mainly carried by fruit bats has killed 10 people in India. The Nipah virus has a mortality rate between 40-70% and fatality has been as high as 100% in some outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. Recent deaths linked to Nipah have been primarily in Kerala and Kozhikode. A nurse, Lini Puthussery, who likely contracted the deadly virus caring for an infected patient was the latest fatality, dying Monday, The Times of India reports. Puthussery, 28, left behind two sons, ages five and two, BBC reports. More than 40 people have been quarantined because of potential contamination and health authorities across the region are on high alert, setting up medical camps and a control room, BBC reports. New Delhi Television reports that dead bats found inside a family's home might have caused this recent outbreak. WHO has been in close contact with medical experts deployed to the affected areas, India's WHO representative Dr. Henk Bekedam said. Nipah virus can be challenging to diagnose, considering symptoms are similar to a variety of other illnesses: fever, vomiting and headaches. Bekedam said some people might not show any symptoms while others could suffer from respiratory problems and brain swelling. Symptoms can progress into a coma within 24 to 48 hours, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More:Congo’s Ebola risk ‘very high’ as confirmed virus cases rise More:Cure for common cold? 'Radical' treatment targets humans, not virus. And it works (so far) "Tracing all contacts of the affected persons in the recent past, testing [and] observing them, and treating them early, is the key to rapidly curtail the spread of the disease and minimize fatalities," Bekedam said. "Another key intervention is good infection control practices at health facilities." The first identified outbreak of the Nipah virus took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia, in 1998, according to WHO. At that time, about 265 people were infected, the CDC notes. In 2004, people in Bangladesh became infected after eating date palm sap that was contaminated by infected fruit bats. Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets<doc-sep>
A deadly virus carried by fruit bats has killed at least three people in southern India. (CNN) — Three people in the southern Indian state of Kerala have died of the Nipah virus. Two brothers in their late 20s and their aunt, 50, died from the virus in Kozikhode district, according to Dr. Reena KJ, the state’s assistant director of public health. The father of the two men, 56, is currently on life support and in a “delirious state,” said Reena. stringer/AFP/Getty Images Officials in Kerala inspect a well to catch bats that can carry the Nipah virus. The virus, which can be spread by contact with animals or humans, can develop from headache and drowsiness to a coma within days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treatment is limited to supportive care. The first death was reported Saturday, after which the country’s health ministry and the World Health Organization were contacted, the office of Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, wrote in a tweet Monday. A statewide alert has been given to remain vigilant and a 24-hour control room opened, added Vijayan. Fluid samples have been taken from 14 people who visited the deceased in the hospital, along with 27 members of hospital staff who had come into contact with them during their treatment, according to Reena. She added that deaths in other districts where people presented with the symptoms of the Nipah are also being tested, Reena said. Government reassurances India’s Health Ministry has deployed a response team to Kerala. The country’s union minister of health and family welfare, JP Nadda, said in a statement that his department was “closely monitoring the situation” and has “dispatched a Central team to assist the State government and initiate required steps.” The state government has made assurances that the “health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected and prevent the advance of virus.” CM Pinarayi Vijayan has informed that Government is closely monitoring the spread of the Nipah virus. Health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected & prevent the advance of virus. — CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) May 21, 2018 A subsequent tweet urged private hospitals to “not deny treatment for anyone suffering from fever.” Health minister & Labour minister have camped at the district to lead the efforts. Private hospitals have been instructed to not deny treatment for anyone suffering from fever. An expert medical team of the Union government has arrived on the request of the State Government. — CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) May 21, 2018 About Nipah virus The Nipah virus can cause a range of symptoms in those infected, including fever, headache, confusion and disorientation. More severe symptoms include acute respiratory syndrome – where the lungs cannot get enough oxygen to the body – and fatal encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. Follow CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. The virus is known to infect both humans and animals, with certain species of fruit bat being natural hosts. People can become infected after contact with infected bats, pigs or humans. There is no vaccine against Nipah and the only treatment option is supportive care, according to WHO. Nipah virus was first identified during a 1998-1999 outbreak in Malaysia, where almost 300 people were infected and more than 100 died, according to the CDC. More than a million pigs were euthanized to halt the spread of the illness. The virus was named after the village of Kampung Sungai Nipah, where pig farmers contracted the disease. There have been subsequent outbreaks in India and Bangladesh, with more than 600 reported human cases between 1998 and 2015, according to the WHO. Many parts of Asia, as well as Australia, Madagscar and Ghana are at risk of outbreaks. The virus is on the WHO’s list of epidemic threats in need of urgent research and development. CNN’s Meera Senthilingam contributed to this report.