The lab results of a 52-year-old man from Cuddalore, who was admitted into Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Puducherry with symptoms of Nipah has returned negative for Nipah. The sample was sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing on Thursday.
The patient who is a Cuddalore resident and worked in Guruvayur in Kerala, showed up at JIPMER with high fever and respiratory problems on Sunday. Since there was one confirmed case of Nipah virus in Kerala, the doctors in JIPMER had admitted the man in an isolated ward in JIPMER catering to infectious diseases and had sent his fluids samples to NIV, Pune to test for Nipah virus.
A copy of the lab results sent to JIPMER by NIV, Pune confirms that the samples were negative for Nipah virus.
Speaking to TNM, a JIPMER official said that the lab results returned from NIV Pune has stated that the samples from the patient is negative for Nipah. However, the official added that the patient is still critical and is on ventilator support. “That the patient does not have Nipah has now been confirmed by NIV, Pune. But he is undergoing treatment for his respiratory issues and is still under ventilator support,” the official said.
According to reports, the health department officials from Cuddalore were in the process of tracing the people who had come in contact with the 52-year-old man from Cuddalore before he reached his house on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have geared up for any possible outbreak of Nipah since the first case was reported in neighbouring Kerala. Extensive medical checks in the border districts of Tamil Nadu and isolation wards in Government medical college hospitals and taluk hospitals have since been put in place to treat the patients who present with symptoms of Nipah. Nipah does not have any specific cure as yet. The patients will be treated according to the symptoms they come with.
Source: The News Minute