India's Kerala shuts some schools, banks to curb deadly Nipah virus

India's southern state of Kerala shut some schools, offices and public transport, authorities said on Wednesday, as they scrambled to rein in the spread of the rare and deadly brain-damaging Nipah virus that has killed two people. The victim's daughter and brother-in-law, both infected, are in an isolation ward, with other family members and neighbours being tested. The Nipah virus was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak of illness among pig farmers and others in close contact with the animals in Malaysia and Singapore. In Kerala's first Nipah outbreak, 21 of the 23 infected died, while outbreaks in 2019 and 2021 claimed two more lives. A Reuters investigation in May identified parts of Kerala as among the places most at risk globally for outbreaks of bat viruses.