A six-member medical team including doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi reached Kochi on June 4 in the wake of Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala.

The medical team reached here following Union Health Minister Harsha Vardhan's assurance to State Health Minister K K Shailaja that the Centre will extend all help to the State to contain the spread of disease, Health Department sources said. A control room has been opened in Delhi for the help of public. Mr Harsha Vardhan held a meeting with the top officials of the Health Department and reviewed the situation in Kerala.

A special aircraft is being pressed into service to bring medicines from Delhi to Kerala, the sources added. Meanwhile, the Idukki District Medical Officer denied media reports that the hilly district was the origin of Nipah virus.