Samples of Soldier Who Died in Kolkata Hospital Test Negative for Nipah

Kolkata: A soldier who passed away in Kolkata on May 25 was not infected by Nipah virus, the Army’s Eastern Command has said citing test reports.

Seenu Prasad was a native of Kerala, where more than 10 people have succumbed to the Nipah virus, and resumed duty at Fort William of the Eastern Command on May 13 after a month-long visit to his home state.

He was admitted at the Command Hospital with fever on May 20 and passed away on May 25.

“On May 29, soldier Seenu Prasad’s body fluids was sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune which is the only agency in the country to certify whether it was a case of Nipah virus or not. We have received the test report and it came to know that he was not suffering from Nipah,” Eastern Command spokesperson Wing Commander SS Birdi said. “The report came negative and categorically mentioned that it was not a case of Nipah virus infection.”

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has set up an isolation ward for people being admitted with the ‘mystery fever’ at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Beliaghata in Kolkata.

All officials at the Integrated Disease Surveillance Progamme (IDSP) of the state health department have been asked to be alert. All hospitals across the state have been asked to report any case of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) on daily basis.

NiV can be transmitted by infected pigs/fruit bats, through their saliva secretions, urine or faeces. It causes respiratory infection leading to fever, body ache, stiff neck, nausea, breathlessness and severe cough.