The similarity of the localities from where the Nipah infection originated three times in Kozhikode district raises a few questions about the link between environment and the epidemic. Thick foliage, fruits, rivers, areca palms and proximity to forest are the common features of these locations, characteristics of the down hill regions of the Western Ghats.
Kallad in Maruthonkara panchayat, epicentre of the present outbreak, is only 10 km by road from Sooppikkada in Perambra where the virus struck in 2018. If not for the Janakikkadu eco-tourism sector in between, the two locations will just be three km away.
