Nipah virus antibody in bat

Nipah virus antibody in bat

Subject : Science and Tech

Section: Health

Context:

Kerala will intensify the disease surveillance activities and maintain vigil against Nipah as Nipah virus antibodies have been detected in bats in Wayanad as well in Indian Council of Medical Research’s bat surveillance studies.

About Nipah virus (NiV):

• It is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans).
• The organism which 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 disease in both infected horses and humans.
• It first broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.
• It first appeared in domestic pigs and has been found among several species of domestic animals including dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.

Transmission:

• The disease 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.

Symptoms:

• The human infection presents as an encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, and potentially death.

Prevention:

Currently, there are no vaccines for both humans and animals. Intensive supportive care is given to humans infected by Nipah virus.