How 3 Kerala doctors spotted deadly Nipah virus, acted quickly

According to reports, three doctors in Kerala, who acted promptly after they came to know about the Nipah virus are being praised for their promptness that helped avoid a more devastating outbreak of the deadly virus that has killed 12 people and affected 20 so far in the state.

Dr AS Anoop Kumar, who noticed strange symptoms in patient admitted to the Baby Memorial Hospital, had signs of encephalitis during his usual round in the wards. But he noticed that the patient had few other symptoms also.

He immediately spoke with two of his young colleagues, Dr Ajith K Gopan and Dr Ganga Prasad, who also claimed that they were dealing with a new kind of symptoms likely triggered by an unknown virus.

The next day the report confirmed the doctors’ that it was Nipah virus and they alerted the state health officials. However, the state government broke the news only on May 20 when the results from the National Institute of Virology in Pune confirmed the three initial cases.