Staff members install a sign reading "Nipah isolation ward, entry strictly prohibited" at a hospital where a ward is being prepared for suspected Nipah virus patients in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, September 12, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - India has recorded two deaths from the rare Nipah virus in the state of Kerala, an official from the National Institute of Virology said on Tuesday. One person died this month while another death occurred on Aug. 30, said the official, who declined to be named. Mass testing will begin in the area where the latest cases were found and some quarantine measures have been put in placeThis is the fourth Nipah outbreak in Kerala since 2018. A Reuters investigation published in May identified parts of Kerala as among the places most at risk globally for outbreaks of bat viruses.

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Persons: Stringer, Nipah, Rupam Jain, Deborah Nelson, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, National Institute of Virology, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, DELHI, Malaysia, Singapore