Kozhikode: Kerala is once again grappling with the fear of the Nipah virus, just a month after its last reported outbreak. Preliminary tests have returned positive for two new cases, including the tragic death of an 18-year-old girl in Kozhikode and a 38-year-old woman from Palakkad who is currently in critical condition.

The young girl, from Mankada, Malappuram, was admitted to a private hospital in Kottakkal on June 28 with Nipah-like symptoms and later succumbed to brain death in Kozhikode on July 1. A post-mortem was conducted at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where preliminary Nipah tests came back positive. As a precaution, the medical team involved in the post-mortem has been quarantined. Samples have been despatched to the Pune Virology Lab for definitive confirmation, with results anticipated by Friday.

Earlier, a 38-year-old woman from Thachanattukara, Palakkad, also tested positive for Nipah in preliminary tests at the Kozhikode Medical College’s Virology Lab. She is currently in a critical condition and on a ventilator at a private hospital in Perinthalmanna, having been admitted on July 1 with fever and shortness of breath. She had initially sought treatment at two hospitals in Mannarkkad and Karinkallathani, respectively. Her samples have also been sent to the Pune Virology Lab for confirmation. Health officials are actively tracing her contacts and monitoring those who came in contact with the patient.

These new developments follow a Nipah confirmation on May 8 for a 42-year-old woman from Valanchery. Although she has since tested negative for the virus, she remains unconscious and continues to receive treatment at the Cooperative Hospital in Perinthalmanna.