Nipah virus infection: a deadly disease emerging in India

Abstract

Nipah virus infection is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by a virus called Nipah virus (NiV). First outbreak was occurred among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore in the year 1998-99 with 30% case fatality rate. In India, two outbreaks of Nipah virus have been reported in the eastern state of West Bengal in the years 2001 and 2007 where nearly 70% deaths were occurred. Recently, third outbreak of Nipah virus infection has been reported in India from two districts Kozhikode and Mallapuram of Kerala on 19 May 2018 and 17 patients were died from 19 reported cases (18 laboratory confirmed cases) from these two affected districts. Till now, no reasons of the outbreak in Kerala have been identified and situation was controlled immediately because of taking stringent containment and preventive measures like enhancement of acute fever and acute encephalitis syndrome surveillance system and strengthening of Hospital and community surveillance. There is no effective treatment or vaccine available that’s why the primary focus should be on the prevention like avoidance of drinking of raw palm sap (palm toddy) contaminated by bat excrete, don’t consumed partially eaten fruits by bats and water from wells infested by bats and avoid exposure to bats in endemic areas and sick pigs. The WHO suggests that health care professionals should wear gloves and other protective clothing during any pig slaughtering and culling procedures.