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Two cases of mortal Nipah virus in India have prompted Thai and Malaysian authorities to step up checks at airports to prevent the spread of infection.
But what is Nipah vvirus, and how worried should people be? Here are some answers.
India’s health ministry said on Tuesday that two cases of Nipah had been detected since December and that all identified contacts had been quarantined and tested. The ministry did not release details about the patients, but said 196 contacts had been traced and all had tested negative.
“The situation is under constant monitoring and all necessary public health measures are in place,” the ministry said.
No cases of the virus have been reported outside India, but several Asian countries have introduced or strengthened screening measures at airports as a precaution.
What is Nipah virus?
Nipah is a rare viral infection that spreads widely from infected animals, primarily fruit bats, to humans. It can be easymptomatic but it is often very dangerous, with a case fatality rate 40 to 75 percent, depending on the detection and management capacity of the local health system, according to the World Health Organization.
However, while it can also spread from person to person, it does not do so easily and outbreaks are usually small and fairly contained, according to experts and authorities. European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Vaccine candidates are being developed, but none have yet been approved.
Is this common?
Nipah was the first identified in Malaysia in 1999. Since then, small outbreaks have occurred almost every year, mainly in Bangladesh. India also experiences sporadic outbreaks.
According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a group that tracks emerging disease threats and funds the development of medical tools to protect against them, as of December, a total of 750 cases had been recorded, and 415 of them have died.
How is it spread?
When first identified in Malaysia and Nipah spreadgelly by direct contact with sick pigs or contaminated tissues. Since then, it has spread more often through contact with what scientists consider its natural host: fruit bats.
Specifically, consumption of fruit or fruit products – such as raw date palm juice – containing urine or saliva from infected fruit bats was the most likely source of infection, according to the WHO. Human-to-human spread has been noted, primarily after close contact between a sick patient and their family or caregivers.
What are the symptoms?
The initial symptomwho of Nipah, tel such as fever, headache and muscle pain, are not specific and can be confused with other illnesses. These can then be followed by neurological signs indicating acute encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, and some people experience serious breathing problems.
Ten people died there after being infected with the Nipah virus, a disease believed to be spread by fruit bats and other animals.
Seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within a few days. Most people who improve make a full recovery, but some suffer long-term neurological problems.
How worried should we be?
WhNipah Island is an announcementA dangerous disease with a high mortality rate, it has not yet shown signs of human-to-human transmission or spreading easily around the world, scientists say.
However, it remains a significant public health problem, according to the WHO, particularly in countries where outbreaks are more common. It may also lead to mass culling of farm animals, such as pigs, susceptible to the virus.
Scientists say it is unlikely to spread globally – but also point out that screening at airports could be ineffective because the virus has a long incubation period.
What vaccines or treatments are there?
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for Nipah, although a number of candidates are being tested, including one developed by Oxford University scientists involved in the development of one of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Their Nipah vaccinates usIt uses the same technology and began phase 2 testing in Bangladesh in December in collaboration with the Bangladesh International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research and with funding from the Coalition for Emergency Preparedness Innovations.
