The 14-year-old boy from Kerala's Malappuram, who was under treatment here for Nipah infection, died on Sunday, state Health Minister Veena George said.
George said the boy from Pandikkad suffered a massive cardiac arrest at 10.50 am on Sunday and efforts to revive him failed.
"He was on a ventilator and was not conscious. The urine output had reduced this morning. After the massive cardiac arrest, the revival efforts failed and he passed away at 11.30 am," George said.
The Minister said the funeral will be held following international protocols.
"Further matters on funeral will be decided only after the district Collector holds discussion with the parents and the family," George said.
The Minister said currently there are three people under isolation at Kozhikode medical college where the deceased boy was undergoing treatment.
"At Manjeri Medical college, four high-risk category people are admitted out of which one person is in ICU," the minister said, adding that the results of their samples will be out today itself.
The minister said the child went to school on May 11 and till now there are not many cases of patients with symptoms.
Earlier in the day, the Minister had informed that there are a total of 246 people in the contact list of the boy out of which 63 were under high-risk category.
"We will be testing all under the high-risk category but initially those with symptoms will be tested. We have labs in the state and a mobile lab from the Pune NIV is arriving in the state," George said.
The Health department has also decided to conduct fever surveillance in two panchayats including the epicentre Pandikkad and a total of around 33,000 houses will be covered under it.
"The survey will be conducted jointly by the officials of the Health department, the LSGD and the Directorate of Animal Husbandry," the Minister said.
The state government will also take care of the families under isolation and volunteers have been deployed to assist them to purchase provisions or medicines and assist them.
"The volunteers will also help the families under isolation to take care of their pets or livestock if any," she added.
The child was shifted from a private hospital to the Kozhikode Medical College yesterday after he was confirmed to be having Nipah infection.
The Minister also informed that the monoclonal antibody which was procured last time from Australia and stored at Pune NIV has reached the state. The Health department has also set up 30 isolation rooms and a six-bed ICU at the Manjeri Medical College and have isolated all those who have come into contact with the infected boy.
The authorities have imposed restrictions in a three-km radius from the epicentre at Pandikkad.
The Health department said the child had sought treatment at a private clinic on July 12. He was admitted to the same private hospital on July 15 but was later shifted to the private hospital at Perinthalmanna. From there, he was shifted to the private hospital at Kozhikode.
The state government had announced recently that a special action calendar was being prepared for the prevention of a Nipah outbreak, which has haunted the state on four occasions in the past.
Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and in Ernakulam district in 2019, and the presence of Nipah virus antibodies had been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts.
The government will deploy a multi-member joint outbreak response team to support Kerala in investigating a Nipah virus case detected in its Mallapuram district, identifying epidemiological linkages and providing technical assistance.
In a statement on Sunday, the Union health ministry said a 14-year-old boy from the district exhibited the acute encephalitis syndrome and was admitted to a healthcare facility in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre in Kozhikode.
He succumbed to the disease and samples were sent to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, which confirmed Nipah virus infection, it said.
Fruit bats are the usual reservoir of the virus, and humans can become infected by accidentally consuming bat-contaminated fruits.
Outbreaks of the Nipah Virus Disease (NiVD) have been reported in Kerala in the past, with the last occurring in 2023 in Kozhikode district, the statement said.
The ministry has advised the state to immediately implement public health measures such as active case search in the boy's family and his neighbourhood, and in areas with similar topography of the place the case was detected.
Kerala has also been advised to start tracing people who have come in contact with the patient in the last 12 days and implement strict quarantine for them, and isolation for suspects.
The multi-member joint outbreak response team from the 'One Health' mission of the health ministry will be deployed to support the state in investigating the case, identifying epidemiological linkages, and providing technical assistance, the statement said.
In addition, at the state's request, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management but it could not be used because of the boy's "poor general condition", according to the ministry.
It said a mobile BSL-3 laboratory for testing samples from patient contacts has reached Kozhikode.