Nature India | Indigenus

NI Photo Contest 2018: Finalist #7

Time now to announce the Nature India photo contest 2018 finalist number seven:

K. S. Praveen Kumar, Senior Photographer, Deshabhimani Daily, Kozhikkode, Kerala, India.

Photo Caption: Death in the times of Nipah

K. S. Praveen Kumar

During the first ever outbreak of the bat-borne Nipah virus in south India in May-June 2018, Praveen was on assignment from his newspaper to capture the tragedy that struck the Kozhikode district of Kerala. Praveen says: 

K. S. Praveen Kumar

This is the picture of a burial team in protective gear. As bodies of Nipah victims can be extremely infectious, the physical remains of one such victim are being taken for “safe burial” under the Ebola protocol at the Kozhikode Kannamparambu cemetery in Kerala.

When the whole of the district kept indoors, fearing the deadly Nipah virus and international tourists skipped flights to Kerala, my intention was to bring this deadly disease to light. The Nipah virus outbreak killed 17 people in the two affected districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram.

This emerging infectious disease spreads through secretions of infected bats. It can spread to humans through contaminated fruit, infected animals or through close contact with infected humans.

This picture of burial workers clad in protective gear that resemble spacesuits captures the grimness and horror associated with this deadly disease. Paradoxically though, despite the fear, grief and despair, relatives’ pleas for a traditional burial brought to fore the need for better awareness for such emerging infectious diseases.

Wonderful capture Praveen, and welcome to our top 10!

The 5th edition of the Nature India photo contest is now rolling out its long list of top ten in no particular order of merit. The contest themed “vector-borne diseases” was announced in November 2018 and has received some fabulous entries from around the world.

Nature India’s final decision to chose the winner will be partly influenced by the engagement and reception these pictures receive here at the Indigenus blog, on Twitter and on Facebook. To give all finalists a fair chance, we will consider the social media engagement each picture gets only during the first seven days of its announcement. The final results will be announced sometime in late January 2019.

The winner of the contest will get a cash award of $350, the second prize is worth $250 and the third $200. Photographs will be judged for novelty, creativity, quality and printability by a panel of Nature Research editors and photographers alongside a leading Indian scientist working in the area of vector-borne diseases. The winner and two runners-up will receive a copy of the Nature India Annual Volume 2017 and a bag of goodies (including Collector’s first issues of Nature and Scientific American and some other keepsakes) from the Nature Research. One of the winning entries also stands a chance of being featured on the cover a forthcoming print publication.

So watch out for our other finalists and feel free to promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

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