While the doctors managed to find the index patient, what was more challenging for Dr Anoop and his team, was to establish the connection between the first Nipah case and the second victim.
A 49-year-old and 40-year-old who passed away in the last two weeks at a hospital in Kozhikode are suspected to have had Nipah infection, and their samples have been sent for testing.
Nipah is a zoonotic disease, which means it is transmitted to humans through infected animals or contaminated food. It can also be transmitted directly from person to person through close contact.
The contact list of one the deceased has 168 people, and the second has 158, George said. Of them, 127 are health workers. Efforts are on to identify all people who had come into contact with the infected persons, George said.