Manipal doc at the heart of fight against virus

BENGALURU: Microbiologist Dr G Arunkumar, who's at the leading edge of the struggle in opposition to the outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in the country, insists that there's no want to panic as measures to regulate i ts unfold were put in place.
A runkumar, who heads the Mani buddy Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) underneath Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, is working in Nipah-hit areas of Kozhikode, Kerala, and communicates and coordinates with the medical community and the state govt.

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The cases in Kozhikode will have easily flown underneath the radar have been it not for microbiologists like Dr G Arunkumar. The Nipah virus is similar to Ebola and Arunkumar’s presence of thoughts to check for a rare virus like Nipah is commendable. That said, the first Nipah cases — in 1998 across Malaysia — confirmed that the outbreak was once largely the result of environmental exchange. Humans had destroyed the habitat of bats which carried the virus and it driven the mammals into shut proximity to people. It handiest presentations how necessary it is to keep the environment

Arunkumar, who was once instrumental in diagnosing the second one patient with the Nipah virus, believes the virus was once detected quite early. This, he says, will turn out a very powerful in containing it, even if there are handiest two labs - National Virology Institute and MCVR, both in Pune - which are supplied with the bio safety stage -Three, the complicated usual of safety in labs, which is very important to maintain a rare and highly infectious virus like Nipah.

Arunkumar advised TOI: "The infection began with one person in a house in Kozhikode and spread among family members. The other cases occurred in the hospital where the family was treated. Now, all precautions have been taken to prevent hospital-based infection. These efforts have been replicated in the community too."

Arunkumar printed the virus would were detected in an instant had not the first patient died earlier than a check could be performed. A pattern of frame fluids such as a throat swab, blood, urine and cerebral spinal fluid is needed to habits a check. This was once acquired from the second one patient and sent to the Manipal lab. The results have been out in lower than 12 hours from the time the lab gained the samples. Once the samples confirmed sure for Nipah, the medical community was once in an instant pressed into prime alert.

"The first patient died suddenly and we could not test," Arunkumar said. "The second patient from the same family was admitted on May 17 and we obtained and tested a sample of the patient's body fluids on May 18. Once the results were out, we realised we were dealing with a rare virus. Unfortunately, the second patient died, but an epidemiological link between the two cases was proven."

Arunkumar claims the virus is very infectious and the ones on the greatest chance are the staffs treating the patient in the ICU. "When the patient is in ICU, the body fluid secretions and airborne infections are more," he said. "So the risk of transfer increases greatly. That is why hospital staffs are most vulnerable to infection."

Past research work of Arunkumar, who heads MCVR and leads the Regional Reference Laboratory for Influenza Viruses established by means of the government of India, contains epidemiological research on respiration syncytial virus an infection in children and the superiority of measles and cytomegalovirus an infection in pregnant women, influenza, viral encephalitis and dengue amongst others.