A central team is expected to arrive here to identify the source of the deadly Nipah virus that struck this Kerala district last month and claimed 13 lives.

According to official sources, the team led by the Central Animal Husbandry Commissioner will visit various areas. All previous attempts to analyse the samples from bats and other animals from places near here failed to identify the source. Two patients who tested positive for Nipah virus were saved on account of the strict treatment protocols that was adhered to, with medicines being flown from Australia and Japan. The central team will again collect fresh samples from different varieties of bats besides other domesticated animals in and around the worst affected villages near here.