Those who returned from Nipah victim's funeral, to be tested if needed: Minister

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday said that the persons who had travelled from Bengaluru to Kerala to attend the funeral of a city-based student who died of Nipah, were being contacted and would be tested soon. The deceased person was a postgraduate student of psychology who studied at a college in Soladevanahalli in Bengaluru Rural district.

However, he suffered a leg injury after which he opted to travel back to his home in Thiruvali village in Wandoor block of Malappuram district last month. Thereafter, he developed acute respiratory problems and died in a hospital in his home district on Sunday.

Tests confirmed that he died due to Nipah. Gundu Rao said that 25 persons, including friends of the deceased and staff members of his college attended the funeral. They have now returned to Bengaluru and remain asymptomatic, the Health Minister said. Gundu Rao added that all of them were in touch with Health Department officials and tests would be conducted on these individuals if they started to display symptoms.

“Some people from Bengaluru city had gone to attend the funeral. We are tracking them. The people who attended the funeral aren’t displaying symptoms, I’m being told. There is nothing to be terrified of for people of Karnataka,” Gundu Rao said.