NEW DELHI, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Nipah virus outbreak in India has risen to 16, with the death of two more persons in southern state of Kerala, officials said Thursday.
"A 56-year-old man and a 28-year-old youth died late Wednesday night at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in the state's Kozhikode district, the epicenter of the Nipah virus outbreak," a senior health official said.
Apart from the 16 deaths in Kerala's Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts, 94 people have been quarantined in their homes while 17 others are under treatment in hospitals. "All steps to prevent the spread of the virus have been taken," state Health Minister K. K. Shailaja said.
The Indian health ministry recently claimed to have contained the virus. "It was a highly localized infection and we have been able to contain it well," Indian Health Secretary Preeti Sudan had said.
Health officials have identified the bat-infested well in the house in Kozhikode district as the likely epicenter of the outbreak of Nipah virus in this country.
This is the third outbreak of Nipah virus in India. Two other outbreaks of the virus were reported in 2001 and 2007, respectively, in eastern state of West Bengal that shares its border with Bangladesh, claiming 50 lives.
Nipah virus is an emerging infectious disease that first broke out in a Malaysian village in 1999. Health experts say there is no vaccine for the virus that causes fever and breathlessness in affected patients as initial symptoms, and only intensive care can help.