Nipah Virus in India: A 12-year boy in Kerala's Kozhikode district died of Nipah on 5 September 2021. He exhibited symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis-- inflammation of the brain and heart muscles respectively. The presence of the virus was confirmed by the Pune National Institute of Virology.
Since then, at least 188 people have been identified and quarantined. Of these, two health workers later exhibited the symptoms of the virus.
"The most important job is to strengthen contact tracing. We are giving special training to our field workers. It is equally important to finding the source of infection. Whether this child is the first to get infected or from where this child was infected. We traced 188 contacts yesterday. There can be more contacts. We are trying to locate everyone," said Kerala Health Minister Veena George.
The local, as well as central authorities, have geared up to keep a check on the further spread of the fatal virus in and around Kozhikode district. Several preventive and cautionary steps in response to Nipah have been issued in the nearby areas of Kozhikode, Malappuram and Kannur districts.
Earlier in 2018, the Nipah virus outbreak was reported in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala but was contained relatively quickly.
What is the Nipah virus?
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that is mainly caused by fruit bats and has a high mortality rate. The first outbreaks of the virus in humans was reported from Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999 respectively.
It is named after a village in Malaysia, Sungai Nipah, where the person in whom the virus was first isolated died of the virus.
Since then, there have been numerous outbreaks of the virus, mostly in South and Southeast Asian nations.
What are the symptoms of the virus?
The deadly virus is known to cause fever, muscular pain, headache, fever, dizziness, and nausea along with respiratory illness. Some individuals have also shown symptoms of epilepsy. Once the infection aggravates, the patient may fall unconscious, develop brain fever that may eventually lead to death.
| Epilepsy A disease of the brain that causes a person to become unconscious, sometimes with violent movements that the individual cannot control. |
Incubation Period of the Nipah Virus
The incubation period of the deadly virus is typically from 4 to 14 days. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) claims that an incubation period of up to 45 days has also been reported.
How does the virus spread?
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that is transmitted from animals and birds to human beings through the consumption of contaminated food. As already stated, the fruit bats are the natural host of the virus and transmit it to other animals like pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.
According to a recent study published by Bangladeshi researchers in March 2021, the previous epidemics in Bangladesh, the Philippines and India suggested that respiratory droplets of an infected person can transmit the virus. During previous breakouts, people in close contact with the infected person, mainly health workers and caregivers, have contracted the virus.
Is the Nipah virus fatal?
The virus is potentially fatal to humans as well as animals, as per WHO. The fatality rate of the Nipah virus is between 40-70% but may vary from one outbreak to other depending upon clinical management and surveillance in the affected areas. During the outbreak in Malaysia in 1999, 105 of a total of 265 infected individuals died of the virus.
Through the first outbreak in West Bengal's Siliguri in 2001, 45 of 66 people detected with the viral infection died. In the Nadia district of West Bengal in 2007, all the five infected individuals died of Nipah. During the 2018 outbreak in Kerala, 17 of the 18 Nipah positive individuals died.
It is to be noted that there are no medications available to treat the fatal disease. However, a cocktail of anti-vitriolic drugs is given to the infected individuals.
Nipah Virus: Preventive measures
1- Keep fruits away from bats and other birds to avoid contamination.
2- Avoid eating fruits that have been bitten by birds and animals.
3- Avoid consuming toddy collected from bat-infested areas.
4- Wear double masks and follow hand hygiene.
5- Visit hospitals in PPE kits and avoid direct contact with Nipah positive patients.
Also Read: Explained: What is West Nile Virus?
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