Nipah virus scare has gripped the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh as hundreds of bats have been found dead in the campus of National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) in past few days.
Initially, the district authorities reported death of around 2,500 bats, but the district administration on Friday evening claimed that the death toll is around 250.
Veterinary physician of Guna Dr BS Dhakrey claimed that bodies of hundreds of bats have fallen in last week or so at NFL premises. “We have collected the samples from the spot and have sent them to veterinary laboratory in Bhopal, Dr Dhakrey added.
Prima facie it seems that high temperature or the heat stroke could have brought about the demise of the bats, said the physician. Chief Medical and Health Officer of Guna Dr PS Bunkar claimed there are no evidence of Nipah virus locally but on precautionary note, an alert has been sounded in the area taking a cue from Nipah outbreak in Kerala. The NFL officers also claimed that bats have started dropping dead from the trees for last few days and by Thursday, hundreds of dead animals scattered in the complex inhabited by hundreds of families. The company said that after spotting dead animals, they informed municipality and Health department. Later the team of forest department also reached on the spot.
The company is also planning to send teams of physicians and para medical staff to nearby 10 villages to conduct health checks.
