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Is there any connection between the Nipah outbreak and farmers that grow exotic fruits like rambutan?
Farmers in mountainous areas are concerned that speculations that the youngster who died of Nipah in Kozhikode ate a bat-bitten rambutan fruit could reduce demand for fruits in northern India.
Though the exotic fruit harvest has ended in the plains, it has just begun in hilly places like Wayanad and Idukki. After problems with cash crops like pepper and a drop in the price of rubber, coffee, and tea, many farmers turned to fruit farming.
Over 6,000 acres of Wayanad are dedicated to the cultivation of exotic fruits such as rambutan, pulasan, mangosteen, avocado, dragon fruit, and litchi by more than 5,000 farmers.
Kuruvila Joseph, 69, a progressive planter in Meppadi, explains, “We obtain a sustainable income because fruits are only available in the high ranges during the period.”
“I've been growing rambutan for 30 years, but due to its thorny skin, I've never seen a bat bite on the fruit,” he adds.
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Many farmers sell their produce in metropolis stores.
“After rumours went through the media, we got a lot of inquiries from Haryana and Delhi,” recalls Sartov Joseph, a farmer in Rippon.
After the plains harvest, the price of rambutan soared from 170 to 250 per kilogramme in the Kerala market recently.
He claims that rumours of a litchi virus, which was linked to the deaths of a few youngsters in West Bengal a few years ago, impacted sales in the metros, resulting in a price drop.
Stopping fruit procurement or not eating rambutan will not prevent Nipah, says P.O. Nameer, Dean, College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, KAU, Thrissur.
“Fruit bats can be found throughout the state and across the country, and we have lived with them for millions of years. We've known for a long time that these bats are natural repositories for a variety of diseases, including the Nipah virus. But why these viruses have spread to humans in Kerala, and when they happened, are questions that need to be investigated further. In the case of the Kerala epidemics, it has yet to be scientifically proven that the virus was transmitted from bats to humans through the ingestion of fruits infected by bat saliva. Dr Nameer says, "It's just a premise beyond which we have nothing to go on right now."
“Stopping people from eating fruits because of the Nipah threat will do more harm than good in a state where non-communicable diseases kill people every day far more than Nipah will ever do. Fruits are an important element of a healthy diet, and omitting rambutan or any other fruit is not a cure for Nipah, according to public health specialist T.S. Anish.
He claims there is no evidence that consuming rambutan caused the 12-year-death old's from Nipah.
People should avoid eating fruits that are laying on the ground beneath the fruit tree or have bite or peck marks because bats or birds may have bitten them. It is a general precaution that we must follow in the context of the rising development of zoonotic illnesses. Fruits are safe to eat if they are cleaned well and the skin is removed, according to Dr Anish.
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