All you need to know about Nipah virus infection

Nipah Virus After a gap of over three years, a case of the zoonotic Nipah virus infection was reported in Kozhikode district of Kerala on Sunday, with the death of a 12-year-old boy at a private hospital.The boy showed symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis – inflammation of the brain and heart muscles respectively. The re-emergence […]

Nipah Virus

After a gap of over three years, a case of the zoonotic Nipah virus infection was reported in Kozhikode district of Kerala on Sunday, with the death of a 12-year-old boy at a private hospital.The boy showed symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis – inflammation of the brain and heart muscles respectively. The re-emergence of the Nipah virus in Kerala poses a fresh risk in the State that is already struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Read about the zoonotic virus in detail…

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Nipah is a zoonotic virus, which means it spreads from animals to humans. The Nipah virus is transmitted from its natural host — flying foxes (fruit bats) — to animals and humans. It affects animals like pigs, dogs and horses, among others. If it spreads among humans, Nipah virus can cause serious illness which may result in death.

Past Outbreaks

Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in, Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999. It was also recognized in Bangladesh in 2001, and nearly annual outbreaks have occurred in that country since.

In India, West Bengal had seen an outbreak in 2001 and 2007, while Kerala had reported several cases in 2018. During the most recent outbreak in Kerala in 2018, 17 of the 18 patients confirmed to have been infected died. In 2019, one case of Nipah virus infection was detected in Ernakulam, but prompt response restricted any further spread. The infected person survived.

Transmission

During the first recognized outbreak in Malaysia, which also affected Singapore, most human infections resulted from direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues. Transmission is thought to have occurred via unprotected exposure to secretions from the pigs, or unprotected contact with the tissue of a sick animal.

In subsequent outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, consumption of fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats was the most likely source of infection.

There are currently no studies on viral persistence in bodily fluids or the environment including fruits. Human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus has also been reported among family and care givers of infected patients.

Symptoms: The following are the symptoms of Nipa virus infection,

1. Brain fever
2. Fever with persistent cough and difficulty in breathing
3. Acute respiratory infection (mild or severe)
4. Influenza-like symptoms — fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, sore throat, dizziness, drowsiness
5. Neurological signs indicating encephalitis

Kerala’s handling of the disease

In 2018, Kerala had no past experience of handling a disease with such a high fatality rate. The state followed the protocol for Ebola virus disease which had been reported mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

At one point in June 2018, around 3,000 people were under quarantine in Kozhikode and nearby Malappuram districts. All the persons who had direct or indirect contact with the suspected Nipah cases were thus put under observation.

A Central team from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) carried out field investigations along with district surveillance officer and other officials at Chathamangalam in Kozhikode, where the Nipah victim haiiled from, on Sunday .

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