India Beat One Of The World's Deadliest Viruses — And Made A Music Video About It
The Nipah virus scare that shook India in May had all ingredients of an-edge-of-the-seat medical thriller like Outbreak: A country of 1.3 billion people and an encounter with one of the most lethal pathogens of our times.
But in the end the deadly virus inspired a singing, dancing Bollywood-style music video.
India's brush with Nipah can be traced to the small village of Soopikada in the region of Changaroth, says Dr. R. Gopakumar, the health officer at the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation, who led a task force charged with curbing the spread of the virus. It's 28 miles from Kozhikode, the third-largest city in the South Indian state of Kerala.
In an interview with NPR, Gopakumar describes the last few weeks in May as "the most challenging and heartbreaking days of his career" in public health. But the story of India's battle with Nipah is also a reflection of how well-prepared the public health establishment in Kerala was to take on the virus.
Nipah is a frightening disease to contend with because the virus attacks the brain and
