Kochi: Fruit bats were the carriers of Nipah virus that claimed 17 lives in Kozhikkode and Malappuram districts recently, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found.
This was stated by Union Minister J P Nadda in Delhi, reports said.
The council arrived at the conclusion after testing 55 fruit bats. Earlier tests conducted on 21 non-fruit eating bats gave negative results of Nipah virus.