Nipah: what is this virus that worries the Indian authorities? - In the news

2023-09-18 15:05:55

September 18, 2023

First identified in 1999, the Nipah virus is currently prevalent in Kerala, India. It has already caused two deaths and the toll could rise. Health authorities are taking measures to prevent the outbreak of an epidemic.

It is included on the list of nine priority diseases, drawn up by the World Health Organization (WHO). In India, the authorities of Kerala are trying to contain the epidemic while the Nipah virus has killed two people in the south of this state. Four positive cases have been confirmed at this stage. Public gatherings were restricted and some schools closed. This is the fourth epidemic in this region since 2018.

Nipah virus disease is a zoonosis transmissible to humans via bats and pigs but also by human-to-human contamination. It can also be transmitted through contaminated food. “Although Nipah virus has caused few outbreaks in Asia, it can infect a large number of animal species and causes serious illness and death in humans, making it a source of concern for public health “, notes the WHO. With no treatment or vaccine available, the virus is fatal in between 40% and 75% of cases.

What symptoms?

The infection may be asymptomatic. Otherwise, the first symptoms are:

Fever ;
headaches;
myalgia;
vomitings ;
sore throat.

“Dizziness, drowsiness, altered state of consciousness and neurological signs suggestive of acute encephalitis may then appear. Some people may also present with atypical pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, including acute respiratory failure. completes the WHO. The main complication is acute encephalitis, accompanied by seizures. Serious symptoms that progress to coma within 24 to 48 hours.

The incubation time is estimated to be between 4 and 14 days. With non-specific symptoms, the diagnosis can be difficult to make and delay the implementation of effective measures to prevent an epidemic outbreak. A PCR test or detection of specific antibodies helps confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment is symptomatic. The patient may require intensive care for the management of respiratory and neurological complications.

Discovered in Malaysia among pig breeders

Nipah virus was first identified in 1999 among pig farmers in Malaysia. At the time, 300 people had been infected, more than a hundred had died. It has been found almost every year since 2001 in Bangladesh and has been observed several times in eastern India. For the WHO, other countries could see the virus appear. This is the case in Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines and Thailand where the virus has been detected in bats, the natural reservoir of Nipah.

For the WHO, Nipah is capable of triggering a pandemic, just like Covid-19, Ebola or even Zika. The fact of having included it on the list of priority pathogenic diseases aims to push governments and laboratories to seek vaccines, treatments, screening tests for all of these diseases which threaten the human species.

Source : The Guardian, What is Nipah virus ? Kerala starts mass testing after outbreak in India, 18 septembre 2023 – OMS
Written by : Dorothée Duchemin – Edited by Emmanuel Ducreuzet