As of 14 June 2026, there have been no new Nipah cases in the state. It’s some small comfort while the one we have on our hands is on a ventilator. “There is no cause for alarm,” was the line from Health Minister K Muraleedharan, who made it clear that we are on top of the testing, tracing and the rest.
Kerala’s status at a glance
You won’t find any community spread from the index case, say the officials. We’ve had 11 symptomatic contacts come back negative, which puts some minds at ease for the moment.
The numbers: 30 samples have been run through the lab and 29 of them were in the clear. The Health Department says the original patient is the only positive so far.
We have 100 people on our radar as a result of contact tracing. The minister’s figures put four in the highest-risk bracket, 14 in high-risk and 82 in low-risk. That count is made up of 44 health care staff among others who came in contact with the patient.
Treatment escalates for the lone patient
Over at Kozhikode Medical College, the doctors are going after it with a few different antivirals. Ribavirin has been in the works since the patient was moved here on June 10, Muraleedharan said.
Then on the 12th we gave the first of the monoclonal antibody. When we couldn’t get Remdesivir from home, the government made an emergency call to Bahrain for some. Clinicians have put that into the mix as well.
The Remdesivir made its way to Delhi and then by air to Kannur for a dose early Sunday, the minister explained. He also let on that India hasn’t bought the drug since 2021 and they are looking into why in some detail.
He is still in a critical condition on the ventilator. The medical team is leaving no stone unturned to see him through this, the minister was quick to point out.
Ground surveillance and support in Kozhikode
Our field teams have been making house calls in Ramanattukara Municipality. A look at 1,047 in Ward 5 turned up nothing in the way of Nipah symptoms, according to what we’re told.
To keep people under observation from having to go out, local bodies are bringing in food and the like right to the door. It’s about limiting exposure while we monitor the situation.
If you have a fever, can’t catch your breath or a bad headache in the area, let us know. Authorities say that kind of promptness is what will break any chain of transmission.
Minister’s message: vigilance without panic
Muraleedharan has put his defence in for how the state has handled things and is asking for a level head. With the senior staff where they are and no wider outbreak, he feels it makes more sense to run the show from Thiruvananthapuram for now.
He is in regular video calls with the Kozhikode District Collector and the health teams to make sure everything is in order.
“You can make quick calls when you have the test results and field reports in front of you,” he said, “and that’s what continuous monitoring is for.”
The minister put forward a few key points during his briefing:
– We haven’t found any new Nipah cases.
– All 11 contacts with symptoms have come back negative.
– There is no sign of the virus moving through the community.
– The patient is on a course of Ribavirin, Remdesivir and a monoclonal antibody.
Administrative moves and some hiccups in communication
When it comes to the naysayers on leadership and readiness, Muraleedharan has an answer. He says if we were seeing the virus spread more, you would have seen a different kind of deployment on the ground. But with a single case, it made sense to keep things under one roof.
He was also open about why the Director of Health Services was let go. “There wasn’t enough cooperation when we needed it most,” he said. If anyone is unhappy with the transfer, the courts are open to them.
Then there was the matter of June 11. The minister pointed to a breakdown in protocol: the Nipah result from that day didn’t get to him right away. “We can only put out an announcement once we have the paper in hand,” he said, while giving credit to the staff on the front lines for their hard work.
Shigella is another worry
Even as they handle Nipah, Kerala is up against a surge in Shigella. The numbers from the Health Department show 135 cases and 3 fatalities since the start of the year.
Kozhikode is where we’re seeing the most, 68 to be exact. Four kids are in the ICU and two of them are in a bad way. In all, three have died in the district – a 59-year-old and two young ones, three and four. It’s a reminder, health officials say, of how important it is to be clean and careful with your water.
On the ground with Shigella
To put a stop to it, the government rolled out the Stop Diarrhoea campaign in early June. We’ve told our districts to step up chlorination, look over the wells at schools and be more of a pain at restaurants when it comes to food safety.
We have ORS, zinc and other medicines on hand to hand out as needed. And in the meantime, we’re making sure people in schools and anganwadis, and in any place with a lot of foot traffic, are paying attention.
Here is what we are telling people:
– Use soap before you eat.
– Use soap after the toilet.
– Make sure your water is safe or boiled.
– Don’t be eating from places that don’t look up to par.
Why this is the moment
Nipah has a way of being deadly in this state, so you have to be on top of it. With 29 of 30 tests and 11 symptomatic contacts in the clear, we have some room to breathe.
Now we have to hold the line on surveillance while the patient is still in critical shape. And with Shigella piling on, the hospitals and our public health message have to do double duty.
Looking ahead
You can expect us to be on top of contact tracing and testing for the next few days. What happens with the patient or the test results will tell us where to go from here.
Our message to the public is the same as always: be on the lookout, be hygienic, and if you’re being watched, don’t be going around. As the health teams will tell you, that’s the only way to be safe from either of these.”
