Kerala has reported one fatality due to the Nipah virus infection on Sunday. The deceased was a 24-year-old student based in Bengaluru and he succumbed to the disease at a private hospital in Kerala's Malappuram. The sample from the patient, after analysis at the Kozhikode Medical College, came out positive for encephalitis.

State Health Minister Veena George confirmed the news. She called an emergency meeting instructing authorities to follow the necessary protocol.

Notably, the disease is spreading fast as 151 people have been isolated after being marked as primary contacts. Five of them are experiencing mild symptoms, per India Today.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Nipah virus infection has an estimated 40-75% fatality rate. Fruit bats are the natural host of the virus and there is no treatment or vaccine available.

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Nipah virus was first recognised in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in, Malaysia. It was also recognised in Bangladesh in 2001 and evidence of the virus has been found in several nations including Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines, and Thailand.

The symptoms include fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat, dizziness, drowsiness and altered consciousness. Some people can also experience atypical pneumonia and severe respiratory problems. In severe cases, encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours.

The WHO says that the infection causes a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection (subclinical) to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.

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(Image: WHO)