Thiruvananthapuram: A young Kerala nurse and mother of two wrote a letter to her husband, who works abroad, minutes before she died of a nipah virus infection, expressing anguish that she could not meet him one last time.

"Sajeeshetta... am almost on the way.... I don't think I can meet you again... sorry... please take the little ones to the Gulf. Don't be lonely like our father... with lots of love and... kisses," Lini, 28, wrote before she died in hospital early on Monday.

Sajeesh, who works in Bahrain and had returned two days ago after coming to know about Lini's deteriorating health, could not see the body as the family consented to immediate cremation to prevent possible spread of the virus and panic among neighbours.

The letter has gone viral on social media, leaving people teary eyed.

Lini, whose sons Hrithul and Siddharth are aged five and two years, had been working at Perambra Taluk Hospital in Kozhikode for the past six years. She got exposed to the deadly nipah virus while treating affected patients.

Lini had left for the hospital on Thursday after feeding Siddharth, Malayala Manorama reported online.

She joined duty at 6pm and had attended to three persons of a family infected by the nipah virus. All three died later. Lini had sat through the night attending to them.

According to the Manorama website, Lini complained of fever the next morning. While being taken to the local medical college, she had had a video talk with her husband and told him she was sick but did not reveal it could be serious.

Sajeesh flew down to Kerala and met her in an isolated ICU, the Manorama website reported.

According to the website, Lini had told the doctors that she could be infected by the nipah virus and requested that she be quarantined. Her mother and sisters visited the hospital but she did not allow them to come near her.

The nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis - a disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals. The natural hosts of the virus are fruit bats. There is no vaccination for the virus. PTI