Malappuram: A preliminary test conducted at Manjeri Medical College has confirmed Nipah infection in a 50-year-old man from Mannarkkad, Palakkad. He died on Saturday evening at a private hospital in Perinthalmanna, Malappuram.

The patient had been referred from a private hospital in Mannarkkad and was admitted to the Perinthalmanna hospital on Friday evening with severe respiratory distress.

As his symptoms closely resembled those of Nipah, he was isolated and given treatment in a specially arranged critical care unit. He passed away around 5 pm on Saturday despite medical efforts.

Earlier, a young woman from Makkaraparambu had died after being infected with Nipah.