Rare but serious bat-borne virus that can cause fever, vomiting and respiratory infections in humans has killed two in Kerala
Nipah is a rare but serious bat-borne virus that can cause fever, vomiting and respiratory infections in humans. Severe cases can involve seizures and encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – and result in a coma.Organization . It has no known vaccine, and the usual treatment is to provide supportive care.The first Nipah outbreak was recorded in 1998 after the virus spread among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore. The virus is named after the village where it was discovered.
Flying foxes are the natural carriers of the virus. “It’s carried by fruit bats who sit in the tops of trees,” said Joanne Macdonald, an associate professor of molecular engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast. “They can urinate and contaminate fruit, and when people eat that they get the virus and then they get sick.”Scientists fear a mutated, highly transmissible strain will emerge from bats.
It also spread to Singapore, with 11 cases and one death among slaughterhouse workers who came into contact with pigs imported from Malaysia. More than 600 cases of Nipah virus human infections were reported between 1998 to 2015, according to WHO data.The southern state of Kerala has recorded two deaths from Nipah and four other confirmed cases since last month. This marks Kerala’s fourth recorded outbreak of Nipah in five years, after other instances in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
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