Alarm in Asian countries for Nipah, the virus that could cause the next pandemic

The Thai Red Cross Society’s Center for Health Sciences and Emerging Infectious Diseases has warned in recent days of the development of another respiratory virus and its possible spread across the planet: Nipah.

It, specialists assured, was born in tropical regions which have a rich diversity of biodiversity, which means that they are also home to a large number of pathogens.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned that it is one of the ten most dangerous pathogens in terms of epidemic potential and that epidemic outbreaks have already been recorded in Asia and controlled.

Nipah causes respiratory symptoms, including cough, sore throat, body aches and fatigue, and encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can cause seizures and death.

A report released a few days ago by the BBC warns, in consultation with experts, that there are several reasons to believe that the Nipah virus could become a pandemic.

The main one is the long incubation period of the disease, which can reach up to 45 days, which means that there are many possibilities that an infected animal or person, without knowing that it is sick, the propagates.

It can also infect a wide range of animals, increasing the possibility of its spread. And it can be spread by direct contact or by consuming contaminated food.