KERALA: 5 CASES OF WEST NILE FEVER CONFIRMED; ALL INFECTED HEALTHY

Five cases of West Nile fever have been confirmed in Kozhikode, health officials said on Tuesday.

According to a district surveillance team official, the afflicted individuals, who included youngsters, are all well and have returned to their homes. No new cases have been observed from the locations where they reside.

He said that one person is currently receiving treatment for what is thought to be a vector-borne sickness.

According to the official, as part of a routine exercise, samples from individuals who had received treatment and displayed disease symptoms were forwarded to the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

"The results, which were obtained recently, showed that they had West Nile fever. They've all recovered now," he remarked.

The mosquito species Culex is responsible for spreading West Nile fever. In Uganda, it was initially discovered in 1937. A six-year-old Malappuram youngster passed away in 2019 from the fever, which was initially discovered in Kerala in 2011.

Thereafter, in May 2022, a 47-year-old man died of the fever in Thrissur district.

Humans infected with the West Nile virus may not exhibit any symptoms, yet it can develop a deadly neurological condition. The state health department states that the major way it is spread is through the bites of infected mosquitoes.