New Delhi– Authorities in the southern Indian state of Kerala are eager to contain the Nipah virus outbreak. The virus has nothing to do with the coronavirus behind the current global pandemic and is more deadly. It killed a 12-year-old boy in Kerala over the weekend, prompting people to work harder to trace his contacts. The new infection has been confirmed. A week ago, the boy was admitted to the hospital with a high fever. As his condition worsened, doctors suspected that he had brain inflammation (encephalitis), and his blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, where tests confirmed Nipah infection.

Nipah virus, first case found in Kerala

Government authorities have stepped up contact tracing efforts to identify, isolate, and screen people who may have had contact with young victims. According to the state’s health minister, Veena George, as of Monday, 188people have been confirmed to have had contact with the boy. Among them, 20 people are considered to be high-risk main contacts, mainly their family members, and they are all strictly quarantined or hospitalized.

On Monday, two health workers who had been in contact with the victim had already developed symptoms of Nipah infection. They were admitted to the hospital, and their blood samples were sent for analysis.

Authorities closed the area within a radius of a few miles from the boy’s home and screened people for symptoms in all neighbouring areas of Kerala. The neighboring state of Tamil Nadu is also on high alert for any suspected fever cases.

This is the second time an outbreak of Nipah virus has been reported in Kerala in three years. Due to the high rate of COVID-19 infection, the area has also been affected. Of the approximately 40,000 new cases per day in India, the state reports approximately 68%. 

What is the Nipah virus?

Like the coronavirus, Nipah is a zoonotic virus or a virus transmitted from animals to humans. Transmission usually occurs when humans come into direct contact with animals or through the consumption of contaminated food. However, a large number of cases of human-to-human transmission of Nipah have also been reported.

Fruit bats of the Pteropod family, commonly known as "flying foxes", are natural carriers of Nipa. They are known to spread the virus to other animals, including pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep. Infected people usually experience symptoms such as fever and headache, which last from three days to two weeks, followed by coughing, sore throat and breathing problems. Later, the condition rapidly progressed to swelling of brain cells, leading to drowsiness, confusion, and possibly coma and death. According to the World Health Organization, there is currently no cure or vaccine for Nipah, and patients can only receive supportive medical care. As many as 75% of Nipah infections are fatal. In contrast, it is believed that the death rate from the coronavirus is about 2%. Approximately 20% of survivors will experience neurological symptoms that may persist, such as seizures and personality changes.

Nipah is spread naturally by fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, also known as “flying foxes.” Pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses, and sheep have all been known to transmit the disease from them. 

Nipah virus symptoms

For three to two weeks, an infected person will have symptoms like fever and headache, followed by a coughing, sore throat, and breathing issues. The illness quickly proceeds to brain cell swelling, causing drowsiness, disorientation, and eventually coma and death. 

So far no cure to Nipah Virus

Nipah has no known cure or vaccination, thus sufferers are only offered supportive medical care.

According to the World Health Organization, Nipah infections can be deadly in up to 75% of cases. By comparison, the coronavirus is thought to have a fatality rate of around 2%. Around 20% of survivors have neurological effects that might last a long time, such as seizures and personality abnormalities. 

Is there a larger threat? 

The virus was first identified in 1999, during an outbreak among hog farmers in Malaysia. Numerous infection outbreaks have occurred since then, all of which have occurred in South and Southeast Asia. It is believed to have killed about 260 individuals in total. 

The cause of a 2004 Bangladesh outbreak was humans consuming date palm sap contaminated by infected bats. The most recent outbreak in India, which occurred in Kerala in 2018, claimed the lives of 17 of the 18 people who were infected. All of the diseases were linked back to fruit bats discovered dead in a family’s well water. 

Nipah is less contagious than coronavirus, but it has a significantly greater mortality rate, a 45-day incubation period, and the ability to infect a far larger range of animals, all of which make it a big concern for epidemiologists seeking to predict and prevent the next pandemic.

WHO and Scientists on Nipah Virus

Scientists warn that as the temperature warms and people destroy more natural habitat for species like fruit bats in Asia, more zoonotic variations will arise. 

According to the WHO’s notification on the Nipah virus, “Fruits contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats must be washed carefully and peeled before consumption to reduce the danger of virus transmission. Fruit that has been bitten presumably by bats should be avoided.” 

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