Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor reacting to the recent outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala said that the state had become an "incubator" of many viruses, but he was confident Kerala could effectively deal with the infection.

"Kerala has dealt with these viruses before. We seem to sadly be an incubator of many viruses. Right now, there's Nipah, there's H1N1...various other things being talked about, and people are worried about it, particularly in a state which is so advanced, where the health system is considered the best in India," Tharoor said while speaking to ANI on Sunday morning.

"It seems, on one hand, ironic that the prevalence of these illnesses is so widespread. On the other hand, we also have confidence that if any state can deal with this effectively, it is Kerala," he added.

"There is nothing to do with politics; it is essentially about building up a credible public health infrastructure, anchored in the communities and with the public's full involvement and participation. This was in evidence during COVID and was widely recognized around the world. I hope that Kerala will also be able to handle Nipah and these viruses without too much of setbacks," Tharoor further said.

The 14-year-old boy from Kerala's Malappuram tested positive for the infection and succumbed to the disease on Sunday afternoon.

The Centre has advised immediate public health measures to be taken by the state government, such as active case search in the family of the confirmed case, the neighborhood, and areas with similar topography.

The Centre has also advised active contact tracing (for any contacts) during the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts in the case, isolation of any suspects, and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing.

A multi-member joint outbreak response team from the National 'One Health Mission' of Union Health Ministry will be deployed to support the State in investigating the case, identifying epidemiological linkages, and providing technical assistance.

Additionally, at the State's request, ICMR had sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management, and a mobile BSL-3 laboratory for testing additional samples from contacts has arrived in Kozhikode. The monoclonal antibodies had reached before the patient died but could not be used due to his poor general condition.
(with agency inputs)