Nipah Virus | 24 Jul 2024

Source: IE

Recently, a 14-year-old boy from Kerala died after testing positive for the Nipah virus.

• Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus (transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
• Nature: The organism that causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.
• Hosts and Transmission: NiV initially appeared in domestic pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses, and sheep.
  • It spreads through fruit bats (genus Pteropus). The virus is found in bat urine, faeces, saliva, and birthing fluids.
• Fatality: The case fatality rate ranges from 40% to 75%.
• Symptoms: Causes encephalitic syndrome in humans, presenting with fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, and potentially death.
• Diagnosis: Diagnosis can be established through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from bodily fluids and antibody detection via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). 
• Prevention: No vaccines available for humans or animals. 
• WHO Response: It has identified Nipah as a priority disease

Read More: Nipah virus Infection (NiV)