Can Nipah and Corona virus infect a person at the same time ? know the truth here
Nipah does not spread far and remains confined to a few areas or clusters. It is a zoonotic virus and is not considered as contagious as the corona virus.
After the death of a 12-year-old boy from Nipah virus, Kerala has to fight on a double front. Already 25,000 thousand corona cases are being registered daily in the state. But, can both Nipah and Corona infect a person?
According to the report of news agency PTI, doctors in Kerala say that the chances of getting infected with both Nipah and Corona are low. Doctor DS Anis said that Nipah virus does not spread far and wide and it is confined to certain areas or clusters.
He says that the number of cases of Nipah virus infection rarely crosses 50. This is not the first time that Kerala is dealing with Nipah virus. The state health department has already handled the cases of Nipah virus infection in 2018 and 2019. Some cases of Zika have also been exposed amid the ongoing epidemic war in Kerala.
In July, Kerala faced a local outbreak of Zika virus. Symptoms of Nipah virus have been identified in two health care workers after the death of a 12-year-old child. The government has confirmed that both of them were among 20 high-risk people who came in contact with the deceased.
Will it be easier to overcome the new challenge?
Doctors have said that there is little cause for concern at present due to many reasons. First, the state has a lot of experience in dealing with Nipah in 2018 and 2019. The second reason, due to Covid, have already taken some protective measures like wearing masks and PPE kits, maintaining social distancing, taking care of hand hygiene, so this time the spread of infection will be less.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus and is not seen to be as contagious as the corona virus. Bats of the Pteropodidae family are known to be carriers of the Nipah virus. These bats live on trees and are generally found in South and Southeast Asia.
Higher risk if the patient’s condition is serious
Nipah is such a virus that can spread from animals to humans and from humans to humans. H1N1 nodal officer Dr Amar Fatale said that transmission of the infection is more likely when the patient’s condition becomes critical – when admitted to the hospital. Therefore, the risk of spreading infection is higher in hospitals than in the community. Kannur and Malappuram have been put on high alert in view of Nipah virus cases.
The Tamil Nadu government has intensified the monitoring of people coming from Kerala in nine border districts. In 2018, there were 17 deaths due to Nipah virus and 18 cases due to infection and in 2019 only one case was reported from Kochi.