In Kerala, State Health Minister Veena George declared Kozhikode district as "Nipah Free" at a function organised at the Kozhikode Government Medical College this evening. The Minister also inaugurated the Kerala One Health Centre for Nipah Research at the  Medical College. She said the Centre will be upgraded into an independent institute at a later stage.<br />''<br />''The Minister said the work to develop monoclonal antibodies locally has begun at the Institute of Advanced Virology and at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram, in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology, Pune.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Health workers who participated in the state government's efforts to contain the spread of Nipah virus, were honoured on the occasion.</span><br />