Kozhikode: Even as doctors battle to save a Nipah-infected patient at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, a political confrontation is on in Kerala, with the ruling party and opposition accusing each other of failing to respond adequately to the public health threat.
The political storm intensified after Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan launched an attack on the Health Department, alleging that the government was not treating the Nipah outbreak with the seriousness it required. Calling the situation “highly deplorable”, Vijayan claimed there was a glaring lack of coordination within the Health Department and questioned the absence of Health Minister K Muraleedharan from the district.
“The Health Minister neither visited the affected area nor intervened effectively. There has been no vigilant and proactive response from the government,” Vijayan charged.
Adding to the pressure on the government, former minister and Beypore MLA P A Mohammed Riyas urged Muraleedharan to immediately camp in Kozhikode and personally coordinate containment efforts. Riyas said he had conveyed the demand directly to the minister over the phone after learning that a young man from Ramanattukara had tested positive for the deadly virus.
According to Riyas, the government’s foremost responsibility was to ensure the patient’s survival while simultaneously calming public fears through effective communication and visible leadership. Drawing comparisons with previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) administrations, Riyas said that whenever Nipah cases were reported in the past, the then Health Minister had rushed to the district on the Chief Minister’s instructions and directly supervised containment measures.
“The minister in charge of the district also led the operations on the ground. Those interventions united health workers, district officials, people’s representatives and the public, giving momentum and efficiency to containment efforts,” he said.
The criticism was echoed by CPM Kozhikode district leadership. District Secretary M Mehboob alleged that Nipah containment activities in the district were in complete disarray. He claimed that when Riyas personally visited the District Medical Office seeking details of people under quarantine, officials were unable to provide information.
Mehboob further alleged that residents in affected areas were living in fear and uncertainty and that those under quarantine had not received preventive medicines, PPE kits or masks.
“The Health Department is handling the situation irresponsibly. Either the Health Minister or the minister in charge of the district should take direct responsibility for coordinating the response,” Mehboob demanded.
The government, however, has strongly rejected the allegations. Responding to the criticism, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan accused the opposition of attempting to politicise a sensitive public health issue. He insisted that the government had not failed in handling the situation and maintained that Nipah had not spread beyond the confirmed case so far.
“The opposition is merely using the issue as a political weapon. Nipah has not spread and the current criticism should be seen as political opposition,” Muraleedharan said.
Defending his decision not to remain stationed in Kozhikode, the minister said he was present when the case was reported and that his responsibility extended to overseeing the entire state’s preparedness. “The disease has the potential to spread anywhere. That is why I convened meetings of senior officials and monitored the situation at the state level,” he said.
Amid the escalating political exchanges, health authorities continue to focus on containment measures. Three individuals currently under quarantine have been admitted to the hospital for observation, and their samples have been sent for testing.
The 43-year-old patient from the Farook College area, who remains in critical condition, has been administered the first dose of monoclonal antibody therapy as per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines and recommendations of the medical board.
Health officials on Friday added 10 more individuals to the contact-tracing list, taking the total number of identified contacts to 87. Of them, four are categorised as highest-risk contacts, 16 as high-risk and 67 as low-risk.
