Explained | Deadly Nipah virus strikes India; symptoms, and more, here's all you need to know

India is currently grappling with a rare outbreak of the Nipah virus, a dangerous disease that has high mortality rate.

Taking pre-emptive action against the threat, authorities in the Southern state of Kerala have shut down some schools and offices to halt the spread of the virus.

Here’s all you need to know about Nipah virus.

The virus is zoonotic in nature, which means it can be transmitted from animals to humans.

Nipah usually spreads to humans from bodily fluids of animals — infected bats and pigs, or through contaminated food, but it can also be transmitted directly between people.

The virus triggers severe fever, often leading to a high mortality rate. It is named after the village where it was discovered.

While Nipah outbreaks are comparatively rare, as per AFP, Nipah — alongside Ebola, Zika and COVID-19 — has been listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the diseases deserving of priority research for the potential to lead to a global epidemic.

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Symptoms and treatment of Nipah

Symptoms of Nipah virus include high fever, headache, vomiting, and respiratory issues, reports the World Health Organization.

In severe cases, seizures and brain inflammation can lead to a coma.

Regrettably, no vaccine is currently available for Nipah, and the WHO reports that the virus has a mortality rate ranging from 40 to 75 per cent.

As per Rajeev Bahl, the Director General of India’s apex body for biomedical research Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Nipah has a mortality much higher than COVID-19.

“Mortality among those infected with Nipah virus is very high – between 40 to 70 per cent as compared to that of Covid, which was around 2-3 per cent.”

To combat the current outbreak, India has taken a significant step by procuring 20 doses of monoclonal antibodies from Australia.

These antibodies, as per PTI, are vital for the treatment of Nipah virus infections, a disease with a high mortality rate. Monoclonal antibodies are synthetic proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight harmful pathogens.

“Twenty more doses are being procured. But the medicine needs to be given during the early stage of the infection,” said Bahl, adding that it can only given as compassionate use medicine — which refers to treatment options that are not authorised but can be used in absence of satisfactory, authorised medicines.

As per Bahl, globally, monoclonal antibodies have been used to successfully treat 14 patients infected with the Nipah virus outside India.

The first Nipah outbreak in Malaysia resulted in over 100 fatalities. At the time, it led to the culling of a million pigs in an attempt to halt the virus’s spread.

It also spread to Singapore, causing illness and one fatality among slaughterhouse workers who had been in contact with pigs from Malaysia.

Subsequently, the majority of cases have been documented in Bangladesh and India, with both countries experiencing their initial outbreaks in 2001.

Bangladesh has borne the brunt of Nipah in recent years, with over 100 fatalities since 2001.

India, on the other hand, grappled with two initial outbreaks that claimed over 50 lives before they were contained.

Most recently, the state of Kerala in India has reported two fatalities and four confirmed cases within the past month, marking its fourth outbreak in five years.

In 2018, Nipah claimed 17 lives in Kerala, reports AFP. Previous outbreaks there were successfully quelled within a matter of weeks through extensive testing and the strict isolation of individuals in contact with patients.

Answering a question about the virus’ resurgence in Kerala, ICMR chief Bahl said: “We do not know. In 2018, we found the outbreak in Kerala was related to bats. We are not sure how the infection passed from bats to humans. The link couldn’t be established. Again, we are trying to find out this time. It always happens in the rainy season.”

As per WHO data, between 1998 and 2015, 600 cases of Nipah virus in humans have been recorded.

As per Reuters, scientists suspect that the Nipah virus has existed among flying foxes for close to a millennium. They also fear that a highly transmissible, mutated strain may emerge from bats.

The first Nipah outbreak was recorded in 1998 after the virus spread among pig farmers in Malaysia.

Fruit bats, according to AFP, are the natural carriers of the virus. These bats have been identified as the most likely cause of subsequent outbreaks.

Animal-to-human viruses becoming more frequent

Zoonotic diseases, which are diseases capable of jumping from animals to humans, have seen a notable increase over the past few decades — the last 20 to 30 years in particular.

As per AFP, the increase of international travel has accelerated their spread. Furthermore, human encroachment into natural habitats has led to a disruption of ecosystems, which in turn has caused an elevation in the likelihood of random virus mutations that can be transmitted to humans.

Industrial-scale farming too heightens the risk of pathogens spreading among animals, while deforestation intensifies interactions between wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.

(With inputs from agencies)