By evening, critical care specialist Anoop Kumar and neurologist C Jayakrishnan had begun to suspect Nipah virus infection. Expertise on the Nipah virus was not established.The Kerala outbreak has had a completely different response. In August last year, it prepared a training programme for dealing with Nipah virus outbreaks. Samples from bats in a village well were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Laboratory in Bhopal, and they tested negative for Nipah virus. “The million-dollar question still is,” says Arun Kumar, “where did the Nipah virus come from?” The Nipah virus is particularly worrying for the government, as it is thought to be a bioterrorism agent.

Source: Economic Times May 26, 2018 17:26 UTC