Nipah virus detected in bat samples from Kerala's Malappuram district

The presence of the Nipah virus has been detected in bat samples collected from Pandikkad in Kerala's Malappuram district, where the death of a 14-year-old boy due to the infection was reported on June 21.

According to Health Minister Veena George, antibodies were found in six out of 27 fruit bat samples collected within a five-kilometre radius. The minister said that all tests of those on the contact list of the infected individual conducted as per Nipah protocol have been negative for the virus so far. 

A total of 472 people are on the contact list, and 261 individuals who have completed the mandatory 21-day isolation period have been removed from the list, she added.