The staff of health department packing bat for checking the presence of Nipah virus by wearing safety masks as a precautionary measure after the 'Nipah' virus outbreak, in Kozhikode district of India's southern state Kerala on May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)
NEW DELHI, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Nipah virus outbreak in India has risen to 14, with the death of one patient in the southern state of Kerala, officials said Monday.
"The latest victim was a 26-year-old man who died late Sunday evening while under treatment since last week at a private hospital in the state's Kozhikode district, the epicentre of the Nipah virus outbreak," a senior health official said.
Apart from the 14 deaths in Kerala's Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts, some 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.
The Indian Health Ministry recently claimed to have contained the virus. "It was a highly localized infection and we have been able to contain it well," Indian Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said.
Health officials have identified the bat-infested well in the house in Kozhikode district as the likely epicentre of the outbreak of Nipah virus in this country.
This is the third outbreak of Nipah virus in India. Two other outbreaks of the virus 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.