Nipah Virus

• The Kerala health department issued a health alert in Kozhikode after two people who died due to “unnatural” deaths in the district were suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus (NiV).

ABOUT NIPAH VIRUS (NIV)

• Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted from animals to humans.
• The organism which causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.
• The case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%. This rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management.
• The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.

HISTORY

• Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia when pigs in Malaysian farms came in contact with the bats who had lost their habitats due to deforestation.
• It was also recognized in Bangladesh in 2001, and nearly annual outbreaks have occurred in that country since.
• The disease has also been identified periodically in eastern India.
• 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.
• Transmission
• The disease spreads through fruit bats or ‘flying foxes,’ of the genus Pteropus, who are natural reservoir hosts of the Nipah and Hendra viruses.
• The virus is present in bat urine and potentially, bat faeces, saliva, and birthing fluids.
• The virus is transmitted to people from animals and can also be passed on through contaminated food or directly from person to person.
• Human-to-human transmission of the Nipah virus has also been reported among family and caregivers of infected patients.