Nipah virus

29 Oct 2024 11:38:41 am

Tags : Nipah virus

Topic: Health

Why in the news?

Health authorities in Kerala confirmed the Nipah virus as the reason for the death of a 24-year-old man from Wandoor in Malappuram district. Minister for Health Veena George made the final confirmation following the test result from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Source: The Hindu

About Nipah virus:

It is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans).
The organism that causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.
- Hendra virus (HeV) infection is a rare emerging zoonosis that causes severe and often fatal diseases in both infected horses and humans.
It first broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.
It is named after a village in Malaysia, Sungai Nipah, where it was first detected.
It first appeared in domestic pigs and has been found among several species of domestic animals including dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.
It spreads through fruit bats or ‘flying foxes,’ of the genus Pteropus, who are natural reservoir hosts of the Nipah and Hendra viruses.
- The virus is present in bat urine and potentially, bat faeces, saliva, and birthing fluids.
Its symptoms include an encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, and potentially death.
Currently, there are no vaccines for both humans and animals. Intensive supportive care is given to humans infected by the Nipah virus.