NEW DELHI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- India Friday sought Australia's help to "neutralize" the Nipah virus in humans, as the outbreak has claimed 12 lives in southern state of Kerala.
In a letter to the Queensland state government in Australia, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the country's apex body for bio-medical research, has sought an antibody to check if it can neutralize the Nipah virus in humans that health experts claims has no vaccines so far.
"We have asked them to give their monoclonal antibody for conducting a test in India to find out if it can neutralize the Nipah virus in humans," ICMR chief Dr. Balram Bhargava told media.
"In Australia, it has only been tried in vitro (happening outside the body in artificial conditions, often in a test tube) and has been found to be effective. But it has not been tested on humans," he added.
Apart from the 12 deaths in Kerala's Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts, 94 people have been quarantined in their homes while 17 others are under treatment in hospitals. "All steps to prevent the spread of the virus have been taken," state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said.
Indian federal health ministry has claimed to have contained the virus. "It was a highly localized infection and we have been able to contain it well," Health Secretary Preeti Sudan told the media Wednesday.
Health officials have identified a bat-infested well in a house in Kozhikode district as the likely epicenter of the outbreak.
This is the third outbreak of Nipah virus in India. Two other outbreaks were reported in 2001 and 2007 respectively, in eastern state of West Bengal that shares its border with Bangladesh, claiming 50 lives.
Nipah virus is an emerging infectious disease that first broke out in a Malaysian village in 1999. Health experts say there is no vaccine for the virus that causes fever and breathlessness in affected patients as initial symptoms, and only intensive care can help.