Health News: One more case of Nipah virus has been confirmed in Kerala, in a 39-year-old man in Kozhikode, pushing up the number of active cases of the brain-damaging virus in the State to four, state department said on Friday.

With this the total tally of Nipah virus infections from the virus in Kerala has been recorded at six, including two deaths.

With six confirmed cases of Nipah virus, Kerala has stepped up control measures to contain the deadly outbreak. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday delivered the antibody requested by the state to combat the virus, while a mobile laboratory was also sent to ground zero to enable the state to test samples.

In a major relief to the state government, the 11 samples sent for testing returned negative results for the virus. A five-member central team comprising experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, RML Hospital and NIMHANS has been stationed in Kerala to take stock of the situation and assist the state government in the management of the Nipah infection. The ICMR’s mBSL-3, the first Biosafety Level-3 containment mobile laboratory in south Asia, will help early testing and detection of the infection at the district level itself.