Another Indian state reports Nipah virus death, fanning fears of spread

Kolkata - The soldier had been on a month's leave to Kerala before rejoining duty on May 13.

A soldier has died here of suspected Nipah virus infection, a Defence spokesman said here on Wednesday.
Seenu Prasad, who hails from Kerala and posted at the Eastern Command headquarters Fort William, was admitted to the Command Hospital here on May 20 and passed away on May 25, the spokesman said.
Prasad had been on a month's leave to Kerala before rejoining duty on May 13.
His body fluids have been 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.
"Till such time the report from the NIV in Pune is received it cannot be confirmed whether it was a case of Nipah virus or not," the spokesman said.
Death toll rises to 16
Meanwhile, two more people succumbed to the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala, taking the death toll in Kerala's Kozhikode and Malappuram districts to 16.

Madhusudhanan (55) of Nellikode in Kozhikode district died tonight, according to health department sources.

He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital here, they said, adding that Madhusudhanan had tested positive of the virus.

The number of confirmed Nipah virus cases has risen to 17 with the National Institute of Virology, Pune, finding its presence in the blood sample of a 28-year-old person from Karassery here, the sources said.

• India