Mint Explainer: Nipah virus returns to Kerala. What you need to know?
Nipah virus (NiV) which has claimed two lives so far this year, prompting the central government to intensify surveillance on bats, and deploy a five-member health ministry team to support state authorities. Four samples are being tested for the virus at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, and genome sequencing is in progress to identify the strain involved. Mint takes a closer look at the outbreak.
Nipah virus is a high-risk pathogen first identified during a 1998 encephalitis outbreak among pig farmers in Perak, Malaysia. The virus has since been reported in countries including Singapore, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and India. Within India, outbreaks have occurred in the geographically distant states of West Bengal, near the Bangladesh border, and Kerala in the south.
The virus is notorious for its high fatality rate, as evidenced in outbreaks in Siliguri (2001), Nadia (2007), and Kozhikode, Kerala (2018). In India, the Nipah virus has been linked to Pteropus bats, which are considered a potential source of human infection. Symptoms range from moderate to high fever, headaches, vomiting, muscle pain, coughing, and severe respiratory issues.
Neurological symptoms can include altered awareness and seizures. Transmission to humans generally occurs through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs, or other infected individuals. Currently, Kozhikode in Kerala is the epicenter of the outbreak.
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