The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A teenaged boy died of suspected attack by Nipah virus at Faridpur Medical College Hospital on Thursday.

According to the upazila health complex sources, Tauhidul Islam, 16, son of Moksed Ali of Mangalpur village, started vomiting after he took date juice on Monday.

Meanwhile, health experts of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and ICDDR,B in a study report said that basic preventive measures like hand washing, not sharing beds or food and minimising the number of contacts can limit person-to-person transmission of Nipah virus that still remains a risk.

The central and northwestern part of the country remains at risk for future outbreaks of Nipah virus especially in January through May, the report warned.

So far in the past weeks, eight people, including four children, have died and 10 others badly affected in the latest outbreak of the Nipah virus in Manikganj and Rajbari.

The IEDCR confirmed that the first spell of the Nipah outbreak on February 29 based on the samples collected from the bodies of the three children of Bishnupur village at Daulatpur upazila in Manikganj.

Nipah virus, a new member of the 'paramyxovirus' family, was named after Sungai Nipah, one of the Malaysian villages affected by the virus. Dr Chua Kaw Bing from the University of Malaya discovered the virus on March 18, 1999.

The IEDCR and ICDDR,B study suggested that when clinicians see patients with fever and mental status change, they should inquire if anyone else in their community has experienced a similar illness in the preceding two weeks.

Any clustering encephalitis cases should be immediately reported to the district authority, it also suggested.

The repeated outbreaks of Nipah virus in the country that result from person to person transmission underscored the importance of developing strategies to interrupt the transmission of saliva transmitted viruses, both at home and in hospitals, said the study.

Our Faridpur correspondent said the deceased teenager was first admitted to Rajbari sadar hospital and later shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.

Tauhidul, a student of Class IX of Jamtala Dakhil Madrasah, died at Faridpur Medical College Hospital on Thursday evening.

Necessary samples of the affected boy have been sent to Dhaka for determining the exact cause of his death, said local physicians.

Meanwhile, local authorities start a campaign today advising people to remain alert about Nipah virus.