New Nipah virus advancing: eleven cases confirmed in India

Eleven new cases have been confirmed in India of Nipah virus (NIV) patients, whose origin, like Covid-19, is zoontic and for which there is no treatment or vaccine.

The cases were recorded in the Indian state of Kerala, although Minister Veena George stressed that all patients are in stable condition.

The official added that “The 11 new cases are part of a group of 28 people isolated at Kozhikode Medical College and Hospital “in this country, required the Ansa agency.

After the broadcast last Monday of the death by this virus of a 12-year-old teenager, the medical teams have started the screening of 251 people who have come into contact with the young man in recent weeks.

From New Delhi the Department of Health ordered an increase in epidemiological surveillance and tracing statewide, while in the district of Kozhikode, where the boy lives, there is already a health alert.

What is nipah

The Nipah virus, of zoontic origin, and for which there is currently no treatment or vaccine, is considered by the World Health Organization as one of the most dangerous in the world.

It was first identified by scientists in Malaysia in the late 1990s on a pig farm.

It is transmitted through the saliva of fruit bats, is highly contagious, and causes fatal brain inflammation or respiratory disease in humans.

In India, episodes of Nipah were recorded in West Bengal, in 2001 and 2007, and more recently, still in Kerala, in 2018 and 2019.