Nipah alert in Dakshina Kannada district

New Delhi: The Dakshina Kannada district administration in Karnataka has sounded an alert in the district following the confirmation of Nipah cases in neighbouring Kerala. The Health department has asked the police to open checkposts at border points to inspect goods vehicles entering the district. The police have been directed to check fruits entering the state from Kerala.

The district health officer Dr Sudarshan asked the eight medical colleges in Mangaluru to keep patients under observation who come to them with suspected cases of brain fever.

Sudarshan told reporters here on Wednesday that directives have been issued taluk hospitals, primary health centres in the district to promptly conduct fever surveys.

Isolation wards have been made ready at key healthcare facilities including the district Wenlock hospital here. Private hospitals have also been asked to report any suspected case of Nipah or brain fever.

Though Dakshina Kannada has not reported any Nipah case so far, all precautionary measures are being made after confirmation of the disease outbreak in neighbouring Kerala, he said.