Be alert to the spread of Nipah virus

SGGP September 21, 2023 06:33

According to Hindustan Times, Chief Minister of Kerala (India) Pinarayi Vijayan has just announced that 36 samples collected from bats in Kerala state have tested negative for Nipah virus. This is the area where the dangerous Nipah virus has broken out for more than a week.

Medical workers in India take samples from bats

Kerala has so far reported six cases of Nipah virus, including two deaths and four active cases. Kerala has had no new cases in the past 24 hours, with dozens of samples from people with high-risk symptoms returning negative. These results suggest that the threat of the virus has diminished. However, Kerala officials remain vigilant against the outbreak.

According to Kerala's health minister, Veena George, nine states (including Kerala) are at high risk of Nipah virus infection. Six cases of Nipah virus infection in Kerala have been identified as the Indian genotype, or genotype I, similar to the strain found in Bangladesh. There are two strains of Nipah virus, one from Malaysia and one from Bangladesh.

To date, there is no vaccine or treatment for Nipah virus infection. The disease has a mortality rate of up to 70%. Scientists at the National Institute of Virology in India first identified Nipah virus in bats in Maharashtra state. This virus is commonly found in bats and rats and is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most dangerous viruses in the world.

India has previously recorded four Nipah virus outbreaks in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala, and in 2001 and 2007 in West Bengal. Nipah virus also broke out in 1998 in Malaysia and Singapore, killing over 100 people and infecting nearly 300. Since then, Nipah virus has spread, with a mortality rate ranging from 72% to 86%. WHO data shows that between 1998 and 2015, over 600 cases of Nipah virus infection in humans were recorded. Kerala is among the places with the highest risk of bat-borne virus outbreaks like Nipah globally.

The recent increase in Nipah virus infections has raised concerns among WHO about the outbreak of a pandemic similar to Covid-19. WHO has listed Nipah virus as one of 16 pathogens that need priority research and development, due to its potential to cause epidemics, along with viruses such as Marburg and Ebola, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, etc.

According to scientists, the important thing is not the Nipah virus, or any other pathogenic virus, but the human ability to prevent and cope. The best way to prevent Nipah virus infection is to minimize direct contact with potentially infected animals, wash fruits and vegetables, and peel fruits before eating. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people living in areas where the disease is occurring regularly wash their hands with soap and water, and avoid contact with the body fluids or blood of infected people.

According to the CDC, Nipah virus can be transmitted directly to humans through contact with bodily fluids of infected bats and pigs. Other cases of transmission have been recorded from humans. Symptoms of Nipah virus infection include fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion and coma, which can lead to death.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/canh-giac-truoc-su-lay-lan-cua-virus-nipah-post706452.html