The oxygen dependency of one of the two Nipah-positive nurses undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Barasat has decreased, and doctors are considering taking the nurse off oxygen support, state health officials said on Friday.
The other nurse, however, is still in a coma, they said.
The state health department also issued three guidelines on Nipah treatment and isolation norms on Friday.
The nurses are being treated at Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in Barasat, North 24-Parganas, where they are employed.
“The condition of one of the two nurses has further improved. The nurse was taken off intubation support on Thursday after showing signs of recovery. Since then, oxygen dependency has further reduced,” a state health department official said.
“Doctors are now considering taking the nurse off oxygen support and monitoring closely,” the official added.
Officials said doctors are also planning to begin mobilising the nurse’s limbs within a day or two. However, the nurse is not yet able to speak.
“The second nurse remains in coma,” the official said.
The health department has sent samples from about 75 people at Barasat hospital who came into contact with the two nurses for testing. More than 100 samples — including those from other contacts such as family members — have been tested so far, all returning negative results, the official said.
“Following the treatment of the two Nipah virus cases, we are strictly adhering to government and public health guidelines,” said R. Venkatesh, group COO of Narayana Health, which runs the Barasat hospital. “Emergency services have remained uninterrupted, and elective procedures have resumed in a phased manner, with all elective cases set to resume from January 19.”
Several hospital staff were placed under isolation as a precaution. “All have tested negative and continue to remain in isolation as per government protocols. Our critical care teams are working round-the-clock in close collaboration with the state health department to ensure a safe environment for everyone,” Venkatesh said.
The state health department also confirmed that samples from a doctor and nurse who treated one of the infected nurses at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital tested negative. Both are currently admitted to the Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General Hospital after developing mild symptoms, including fever and cough.
Health officials said the doctor is considered a high-risk contact while the nurse is a low-risk contact. An expert team will decide whether they should continue their 21-day quarantine in hospital or at home. “We may conduct another round of testing before allowing them to go home. Both are stable and doing fine,” the official said.
New guidelines
On Friday, the state health department also issued guidelines on Nipah virus treatment, isolation, sample collection, and defining contacts.
Close contacts are defined as individuals who were admitted in the same ward or shared a room with a suspected/confirmed Nipah patient, had direct contact with the patient during illness or transportation, touched bodily fluids, spent 12 hours or more in an enclosed space with the patient, or handled the patient’s clothes, linens, or fomites.
Sample collection, the guidelines stated, must be conducted in a secure isolation facility, with personnel wearing full disposable personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, double gloves, gowns, goggles, and foot covers.