Dream - The unstoppable flow of tears from family members when they find out that their loved one has passed away due to a deadly virus. This is a common depiction in both reality and the lens of a film camera. Indeed, there are many films that portray the anguish of families facing the spread of a deadly virus. At least there are a number of films about the outbreak of this deadly virus that have gained attention again during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting from "Contagion" (2011), "The Flu" (2013), "Outbreak" (1995), to "Virus" (2019).

Three previous films are fictional stories, so they have richer dramatic elements even though their handling seems realistic in the current global world. Starting from quarantine, military intervention to maintain a lockdown city, and the hunt for a vaccine. Of those four films, the most interesting is the last film. Namely, the film "Virus" released in 2019 when the Nipah outbreak struck the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in the state of Kerala, India, in May 2018. The film "Virus" is indeed a true story adapted into a film about human struggle against a deadly virus...

The translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any HTML tags is as follows: "Infection with the Nipah virus is an infection caused by the Nipah virus. Symptoms of Nipah infection vary from no symptoms at all to fever, cough, headache, vomiting, shortness of breath, and disorientation. If symptoms worsen, patients may experience coma for one to two days and may end in death with severe brain inflammation. The Nipah virus is a type of RNA virus in the Henipavirus genus. This virus can spread between humans. The spread of this virus usually begins with direct contact with infected animals. Nipah virus is usually sourced from fruit bats."

This disease was first discovered in 1998 during the Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia. The name of this virus originated from a village in Malaysia, Sungai Nipah, where the virus initially spread. The film "Virus" depicts the mass fear of the Kerala community in India in May 2018. How the disease initially confused a number of people. Anxious. Frustrated. Researchers had to investigate the origin of the disease's spread.***

The story in this film begins when a patient referred from another hospital comes to the Emergency Department (ED) of Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. His name is Zakariya Mohammed. Zakaria comes in a critical condition. High fever accompanied by cough and occasional vomiting. He is suffering from an unknown virus and, after a few hours in the hospital, he passes away. He was only in the ED room. Then he was taken to the radiology room for a CT scan. But a few hours later, he passed away. This makes the doctors there worried and confused.

But that's not the first patient. There is another nurse who was taken to the ER in the same condition. High fever and cough. To the doctor who treated her, nurse Akhila revealed that the disease is contagious. And the transmission occurs between humans. Because she had previously treated a patient with similar symptoms. That patient was Zakariya. Slowly, more cases are being identified in the surrounding area.

Dr. Salim (a neurologist) while examining Zakariya's father, Razak, who was also recently admitted to another hospital, observed symptoms related to poisoning and other similar infections in Razak. Dr. Salim also asked Dr. Suresh Rajan to conduct a Nipah virus sample test. The sample was collected from Suhana, Zakariya's sister. As the number of casualties began to increase, Dr. Suresh Babu confirmed that the unknown virus was the Nipah virus.

Nurse Akhila (the nurse who took care of Zakariya), finally passed away after some time fighting against the virus. And before she died, she wrote a letter to her husband. In a true story, the letter written by Akhila went viral on social media. This film develops with real-life experiences of people when it happens, and also creates backgrounds for each infected patient.

In an emergency situation, a team of medical practitioners and health professionals, led by Kerala Health Minister C.K. Prameela and District Collector Paul V. Abraham IAS, chose to establish an emergency office in Kozhikode to directly address this crisis. Unfortunately, during that year, healthcare workers were also aware that there was no vaccination available. The Nipah virus indeed does not have a specific vaccine yet. It is also unclear what treatment methods should be used to care for exposed patients. As a result, experimental treatments were administered in the field.

In the middle of the film's story, it was only discovered, thanks to the patience and perseverance of the researchers, that those who were exposed to this virus were triggered by one person who was brought to an Emergency Installation (IGD) of the Hospital in a critical condition due to being infected with the Nipah virus. From there, the virus spread everywhere, including when the patient underwent a CT Scan in the radiology room. The first patient was Zakariya. At least 18 people died, including a nurse who was exposed to this deadly virus.

But what is enjoyable is the end of this true story. That the virus could finally be controlled and defeated. The cause was found. Including the exploration of the transmission chain. Until then, patients began to gradually recover. And India found a new way to conquer the Nipah virus. What can be captured in a film that originates from this true story is optimism. The moral message: there is no dark alley without a ray of light. All beginnings surely have an end. What is needed is a disciplined attitude, perseverance, and revolutionary patience.

Watching this film is like learning one important thing: never lose hope....This film is indeed based on the Nipah virus outbreak in 2018 in Kerala. The main filming took place at two hospitals in Kozhikode on January 6, 2019. Filming was completed on February 26, 2019 after 52 days of shooting in one schedule. The film was released worldwide on June 7, 2019. The dubbed versions of the film in Tamil and Telugu, titled Virus and Nipah Virus respectively, were released on Zee5 and Aha.

Sowmya Rajendran from The News Minute called the film, "A medical thriller full of love and suspense" and gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Meera Manu from News18 gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and said, "For a duration of 152 minutes, Virus will take you through many emotional rollercoasters. This one is contagious enough to make your heart race or shed tears. More than just a film, humans hold hands to defeat a deadly disease. There is no reason not to watch this one."

Manu from Filmibeat gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and reviewed, "Virus is an amazing film and lives up to its slogan. This film accurately portrays the fear, struggle, and survival during the Nipah outbreak. It is a well-made film and can be considered one of the best films of all time." The film was also commercially successful in both India and worldwide. The film's revenue multiplied several times over its production cost.***

In a true story, this film is indeed based on the Nipah virus outbreak in 2018 that occurred in the state of Kerala, India. In fact, previous Nipah virus outbreaks had occurred in India in 2001 and 2007. Both of these outbreaks occurred in the eastern state of West Bengal. It was only in May 2018 that an outbreak occurred in Kerala. The 2018 Kerala outbreak was traced back to fruit bats in the area and was generally limited to the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram. The outbreak claimed 18 lives. This outbreak was declared to have ended on June 10, 2018.

The first case of the outbreak was reported at the sub-division hospital in Perambra in the Kozhikode district on May 2. This first patient was then taken to the Government Medical College, Kozhikode for further treatment, where he later died from the virus. Subsequently, his brother Mohammed Salih was admitted to Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, with suspected viral encephalitis. The doctors at Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, suspected Nipah virus as the cause because the symptoms were similar to his brother who died at that time.

The first index patient has transmitted the virus to 16 people at Medical College Hospital; then two more people were infected, increasing the total number of infected people to 18. There were 10 deaths in the first week, including a nurse named Lini Puthussery (in the movie she is referred to as nurse or sister Akhila) who cared for the first patient before diagnosis. This outbreak started in Kozhikode district and then spread to the adjacent Malappuram district. Health alerts were immediately issued for North Kerala as well as neighboring districts of Karnataka, with two suspected cases detected in Mangalore on May 23, 2018.

More than 2,000 people in the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram were quarantined and monitored during the outbreak period. To combat this outbreak, M 102.4 - a human monoclonal antibody whose clinical trials are still ongoing - was imported from Australia. This was facilitated by renowned Nipah researcher Christopher Broder. The outbreak also led to the resurgence of the WHO Nipah Drug Trial Group, led by Soumya Swaminathan. After Sabith, 16 affected patients died from the disease and two patients fully recovered. A total of 18 people died. The outbreak was officially declared over on June 10, 2018.

On May 23, 2018, the Department of Health Kerala issued a travel advisory urging tourists to be extra cautious in the northern districts of Kerala. On May 23, 2018, the State of Kerala sought medical advice from the Department of Health Malaysia (Ministry of Health Malaysia) for the treatment and medication for the Nipah virus. Kerala's efforts to contain this outbreak under the leadership of Health Minister K. K. Shailaja and Health Minister Rajeev Sadanandan, as well as the district collector at the time, were praised by many.

Staf nurse Lini Puthussery died from the first outbreak of the Nipah virus. She was part of the team that cared for the first Nipah virus victims in Kozhikode. The Kerala Government later awarded 61 individuals for their efforts in combating this outbreak: 4 assistant professors, 19 nurse staff, 7 assistant nurses, 17 sanitation staff, 4 hospital officers, 2 health inspectors, 4 security staff, 1 plumber, and 3 laboratory technicians. Twelve junior residents and two senior residents were also awarded gold medals for their work.

Lini Puthussery, a 28-year-old nurse at Perambra Taluk Hospital who became a victim of Nipah, has been praised on social media and by doctors as a hero for her sacrifice. A letter she wrote to her husband Sajish has been widely circulated on social media. The Kerala Government Hospital Development Society (KGHDS) awarded Puthussery on behalf of those who have excelled in this sector. "Best Nurse in Public Service" award was established to commemorate Puthussery.

After this outbreak occurred, the Kerala government modernized the only virology laboratory in Alappuzha and decided to establish more virology institutions in the state. Therefore, watching the 2019 film "Virus" is very important to understand how to break the transmission of the Nipah virus. Kerala is currently being struck again by Nipah virus cases. This is because 20 percent of fruit bats in the area are indeed reservoirs or hosts of the Nipah virus.

amazingly filmed in the movie "Virus", the experience of the deadly threat in 2018 no longer surprises Kerala. (eha)Source: The India Express, The Hindustan Times, The India Express, WHO