(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Nipah Virus

(JUNE-2025)

A 42-year-old woman in Kerala’s Malappuram district tested positive for the Nipah, a zoonotic virus with a high mortality rate.

Kerala has had five Nipah outbreaks since 2018.
Only six people who tested positive have survived one in Kozhikode in 2018, another in Kochi in 2019, and four cases in Kozhikode in 2023.

Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus, meaning that it can spread between animals and people.
Origin: Nipah virus (NiV) was first discovered in 1999 following an outbreak of disease in pigs and people in Malaysia and Singapore.
In India, during 2001 and 2007, two outbreaks in humans were reported from West Bengal, neighbouring Bangladesh.
Reservoir: Large fruit bats of the Pteropus genus are the natural reservoir of NiV.
Nipah virus is also known to cause illness in pigs and people.
Infection with NiV is associated with encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and can cause mild to severe illness and even death.

Direct contact with infected animals, such as bats or pigs, or their body fluids (such as blood, urine or saliva).
Consuming food products that have been contaminated by the body fluids of infected animals (such as palm sap or fruit contaminated by an infected bat).
Close contact with a person infected with NiV or their body fluids (including nasal or respiratory droplets, urine, or blood).

Infection with Nipah virus (NiV) can cause mild to severe disease, including swelling of the brain (encephalitis) and potentially death.
Symptoms typically appear in 4-14 days following exposure to the virus.
The illness initially presents as 3-14 days of fever and headache, and often includes signs of respiratory illness, such as cough, sore throat, and dificulty breathing.
Death may occur in 40-75% of cases. Long-term side effects in survivors of Nipah virus infection have been noted, including persistent convulsions and personality changes.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection can be diagnosed during illness or after recovery. Different tests are available to diagnose NiV infection.
During the early stages of the illness, laboratory testing can be conducted using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from throat and nasal swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and blood.
Later in the course of illness and after recovery, testing for antibodies is conducted using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for Nipah virus infection, although the WHO has identified Nipah as a priority disease for the WHO Research and Development Blueprint.
Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications.