NEW DELHI – No fresh cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been detected since Sept 15 in India’s southern state of Kerala, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.

The virus, known for its mortality rate of 70 per cent, has claimed two lives out of the six people who were infected in a span of few days in September, sending the state government scrambling to contain the spread.

It was the sixth outbreak in India since 2001.

All the infected people were males aged between nine and 45 and were reported within the Kozhikode district of Kerala, the WHO said, citing India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

There is no vaccine for Nipah, which spreads through contact with infected animals such as bats and pigs. REUTERS