Can we nip the Nipah virus in it’s bud?

– Madhura Mandlik

18th May 2018 witnessed the first death of an individual infected by the Nipah Virus. Nipah virus has been creating a havoc in the state of Kerala , causing the death of 10 out of the 13 confirmed cases. What do we know about the Nipah virus ?

• First outbreak of the NiV was in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malayasia in 1998.
• It is a RNA virus and is a zoonotic pathogen.
• It belongs to the Paramyxovidae family.
• Definitive host is the fruit bat while the intermediate host are animals like pig.

• Transmission could be from bat-human , pigs- human , human -human.
• Transmission from domestic animals by contact with infected animals , their excreta and secretions and also through infected fruits .
• 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.
• First case of 3 family members dying after consuming mangoes bitten by infected bats.

Signs and symptoms:

• Acute respiratory symptoms like cough , cold , fever .
• Headache , myalgia.
• May lead to drowsiness and confusion .
• Pay present as atypical pneumonia and ,dad to acute respiratory distress.
• Encephalitis with CNS manifestations .
• Fatality is at 40-75%.
• 20% survivors have CNS deficits like seizure disorder.

Diagnosis :

• RT- PCR 
• ELISA

Treatment :

• Does not have a definitive treatment 
• Only supportive treatment 
• No vaccine 
• Preventive measure are equally important as human to human spread is high 
• Health care professionals are at a higher risk 
• Standard infection control protocols should be implemented .

 Where Kerala stands ?

• An advisory warning has been given by the state of Kerala. They have urged people to a lid traveling to Kozhikode , Malappuram , Waynad and Kannur districts. 
• Regulatory authorities have increased the checking of food being exported out of Kerala 
• An expert team of professionals from Institute of Virology , Pune and AImS , Delhi is present is Kerala.

References :

• http://www.who.int/csr/disease/nipah/en/
• https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nipah-virus-latest-updates-nurse-death-toll-kerala-india-outbreak-a8363056.html%3famp
• https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/m.timesofindia.com/india/nipah-virus-kerala-government-advisory-against-travelling-to-4-northern-districts/amp_articleshow/64291469.cms