India has announced a nationwide lockdown for two weeks to contain the spread of the Nipah virus, a rare and deadly brain-damaging disease that has killed at least four people in the southern state of Kerala.
The lockdown, which will begin on Friday, will restrict all non-essential activities and movements, except for health care, food and emergency services. The government has also banned all domestic and international flights, except for humanitarian and medical purposes.
India racing to contain deadly Nipah virus outbreak as hundreds are tested in Kerala state https://t.co/PESvByK4wO
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The Nipah virus, which is transmitted by fruit bats or through contact with infected animals or humans, can cause fever, vomiting, respiratory distress and encephalitis.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the disease, which has a fatality rate of 40-75%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus was first detected in Malaysia in 1998, and has since caused sporadic outbreaks in Bangladesh and India.
The current outbreak in Kerala is the fourth one since 2018, when 21 people died from the infection. The state authorities have declared seven villages as containment zones, and have conducted mass testing and contact tracing of more than 300 people who may have been exposed to the virus.
The central government has sent a team of experts and medical supplies to Kerala to assist the state in managing the outbreak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was closely monitoring the situation and urged people to follow the lockdown rules and health guidelines.
