Kozhikode: Tests have revealed that the source of the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala are not the bats caught from the premises of the first Nipah virus victim's house.

This was revealed in the tests conducted at Bhopal. Nipah virus infection was not confirmed in the bats that were sent for the tests.

The Animal Husbandry department had sent 21 samples for testing. Among this, three samples were collected from bats alone.

The samples from the bats found at the house of Sabith, who was one of the earliest victims of Nipah virus infection in the State, were sent for examination. These are insect-eating bats.

Moreover, samples from animals that may cause illness including fever, were also sent for tests. According to the report from Bhopal, the presence of the virus has not been detected in the samples.

Till now, bats have spread the disease at all places in which the disease have been reported in the world. Hence, bats were suspected as the cause for the spread of the disease in Kerala also.

Bats were found in the well of the house of the person reported to have got the infection first. Hence, experts from Pune Virology Institute will arrive tomorrow to conduct a detailed examination. The experts will collect the samples from fruit eating bats to examine them. The Animal Husbandry department says that finding the source of the Nipah virus outbreak will not be easy.