KOLKATA: Two close contacts of a female nurse battling Nipah infection were admitted to the state-run Infectious Diseases & Beliaghata General Hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday, reports Sumati Yengkhom.Sources said the two developed mild symptoms, prompting health officials to admit them to the state's nodal hospital for infectious diseases for better monitoring. Their samples have been sent for tests.
Meanwhile, two patients with "severe" symptoms have been admitted to Fortis Hospital at Anandapur and their blood and their swab samples sent to AIIMS, Kalyani, said Joydeep Ghosh, an internal medicine consultant at the private hospital. One of the patients is from an "affected area", said a source. Samples from 22 colleagues of the two Nipah-infected nurses have tested negative for the virus.
The condition of both nurses, who are being treated at the Barasat hospital where they work, continues to be critical.
Sources said a young doctor and a nurse at a Burdwan hospital were the two close contacts of the female nurse who were admitted to the Beleghata hospital on Wednesday. They were involved in the treatment of the nurse at their hospital before she was transferred to Barasat.
"They have been admitted to the hospital as a precautionary measure. They will be kept under close monitoring in isolated cabins. Their samples have been sent for tests. Both are clinically stable with no major symptoms so far. All required medical attention is being given," said a senior health official. The two were among the 38 close contacts of the female nurse from Burdwan.