Nipah Virus

NIPHA VIRUS

1. Why you must know about this virus?

Ans:- "It's a virus without a  vaccine."

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus is fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus.

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. On this occasion, pigs were the intermediate hosts. However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts. In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats. Human-to-human transmission has also been documented, including in a hospital setting in India.

NiV infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis. NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care.

WHO on Nipah Virus

2. What are the signs and symptoms once this Nipah Virus has affected?

Ans:- Infected people initially develop influenza-like symptoms of fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat. This can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis. Some people can also experience atypical pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, including acute respiratory distress. Encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours. 

3. Past Outbreaks

Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia and Singapore since 1999. 

NiV was first recognized in Bangladesh in 2001 and nearly annual outbreaks have occurred in that country since with disease also identified periodically in eastern India.

Other regions may be at risk for NiV infection, as serologic evidence for NiV has been found in the known natural reservoir (Pteropus bat species) and several other bat species in a number of countries, including Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Madagascar, Ghana and the Philippines.

"The Kerala health ministry on Tuesday said the Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical.

Health minister KK Shylaja said two people – Rajan and Ashokan, who were undergoing treatment at Kozhikode, died in the morning from the virus, she said. "

4.Transmission

NiV is a zoonotic virus (a virus transmitted to humans from animals). During the initial outbreaks in Malaysia and Singapore, most human infections resulted from direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues. Transmission is thought to have occurred via respiratory droplets, contact with throat or nasal secretions from the pigs, or contact with the tissue of a sick animal.

In the Bangladesh and India outbreaks, consumption of fruits or fruit products (e.g. raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats was the most likely source of infection.

Limited human to human transmission of NiV has also been reported among family and caregivers of infected NiV patients. During the later outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, Nipah virus spread directly from human-to-human through close contact with people's secretions and excretions. In Siliguri, India, transmission of the virus was also reported within a health-care setting (nosocomial), where 75% of cases occurred among hospital staff or visitors. From 2001 to 2008, around half of reported cases in Bangladesh were due to human-to-human transmission through providing care to infected patients

4.Treatment

  

 Currently there is no known treatment or vaccine available for either people or animals. However Ribavirin, an antiviral may have a role in reducing mortality among patients with encephalitis caused by Nipah virus disease. Intensive supportive care with treatment of symptoms is the main approach to managing the infection in people.

There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for NiV infection although this is a priority disease on the WHO R&D Blueprint.  Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications.

5. Precautions to be taken.

Ans:- According to NCDC (National Council for Disease Control) 

 Wash hands with soap and water after coming in contact with a sick person or animal

 Avoid consuming raw date palm sap or toddy

 Consume only washed fruits

 Avoid consuming half-eaten fruits from the ground

 Avoid entering into abandoned wells

 Handling of dead bodies should be done in accordance with the government advisory

6.Important Links to refer for further information on Nipah Virus.

----->World Health Organization (WHO).
       
          http://www.who.int/csr/disease/nipah/en/


----->National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

         http://www.ncdc.gov.in/index4.php?lang=1&level=0&linkid=113&lid=228