Two deaths reported in Kerala due to the Nipah Virus, health minister Mandaviya confirms

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Health

Nipah virus infection in humans causes a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection (subclinical) to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.
The case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%. This rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management.
Nipah virus can be transmitted to humans from animals (such as bats or pigs), or contaminated foods and can also be transmitted directly from human-to-human.
Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are the natural host of Nipah virus.
There is no treatment or vaccine available for either people or animals. The primary treatment for humans is supportive care.
The 2018 annual review of the WHO R&D Blueprint list of priority diseases indicates that there is an urgent need for accelerated research and development for the Nipah virus.

Transmission of Nipah Virus

The Nipah virus can spread to people from:

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 body fluids of infected animals (such as palm sap or fruit contaminated by an infected bat); and
Close contact with a person infected with NiV or their body fluids (including nasal or respiratory droplets, urine, or blood)

Diagnosis of Nipah Virus

The laboratory testing can be conducted using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from throat and nasal swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and blood.
The testing for antibodies is conducted using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

What are Zoonotic Diseases?

Zoonosis refers to the transmission of diseases between animals and humans.
Such diseases are termed Zoonotic Diseases.
Zoonotic diseases range from mild to severe, while in extreme cases can even be fatal.
Zoonoses may be bacterial, viral, or parasitic, or may even involve unconventional agents for the transmission of the disease.
WHO in 1959 defined Zoonoses as “those diseases and infections which are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and man.”
World Zoonoses Day is observed every year on July 6 to create awareness on zoonotic diseases, how to prevent them, and what actions to take when exposed.
COVID -19 is an example of a zoonotic disease which broke out in China’s Wuhan district in December 2019.