A deadly virus has killed at least three people in southern India, with medical teams dispatched to the area amid reports that up to six other people could have died from the disease.

The three fatalities from the Nipah virus were all from the same family, said Kerala state health minister KK Shailaja.

There is no vaccine for Nipah, which can cause fever, convulsions and vomiting. The only treatment is supportive care to control complications and keep patients comfortable. It has a mortality rate of up to 75%.

At least three people are said to have died of the infection (AP)
At least three people are said to have died of the infection (AP)

Media reports say five more people have died from high fevers in recent days, as well as a nurse who had treated people infected with the virus. But medical workers have not yet confirmed what killed those people. At least eight others sick with Nipah symptoms are being monitored.

People who had been in contact with Nipah victims have been put into isolation, Mr Shailaja said.

Nipah, which was first identified during a late 1990s outbreak in Malaysia, can be spread by fruit bats, pigs and through human-to-human contact.

A team from India’s national centre for disease control has been sent to the coastal region of Kerala, where the outbreak occurred.

India’s health minister, JP Nadda, said: “We are closely monitoring the situation.”