The death of hundreds of bats in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district has raised alarm in the area and fear of the spread of the Nipah virus. The administrations in Guna and Gwalior districts issued health advisories on June 14.

According to sources, the death of the bats a few days earlier in Guna has set alarm bells ringing in the health department. Bats are considered primarily responsible for the Nipah virus. Speaking to the media, Guna's Chief Medical Officer Dr. P. Bunkar said: "Everyone has been asked to be careful due to Nipah virus. We have conducted the post-mortem of the bats and are awaiting the report to take appropriate steps."

Presently the facility to test for the virus is available only at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, he said.  Besides Guna, an advisory has also been issued in Gwalior because Guna comes under this division and patients from all the districts here come to the divisional government hospital for treatment. "All the medical institutions in the district have been issued directives to prevent the virus," said Dr. S.K. Verma, Chief Medical Officer, Gwalior. Verma has asked the medical officials to immediately refer the patients with Nipah symptoms to the district hospital and J.A.H. hospital, and maintain their records as well.