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Health officials in the state of Kerala in southern India are working to contain the Nipah virus outbreak after killing a 12-year-old boy.
The virus, which is unrelated to “Covid-19” and is much more deadly than it, has caused an enlarged brain in a few outbreaks of the disease over the past two decades. And the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention warns of the possibility of a pandemic because of it.
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Nipah ranks “at the top of the list” of ten priority diseases identified by the World Health Organization as potential sources of future epidemics.
Scientists had previously told The Sun newspaper that Nipah “could be the cause of a new epidemic”.
And up to three-quarters of those infected die, making the Nipah virus about 75 times more deadly than the estimated death rate for “Covid-19”.
The state of Kerala in southern India is stepping up efforts and speeding up to stop a possible virus outbreak, while at the same time facing “Covid-19”.
Kerala was on high alert after the 12-year-old boy died on Sunday, prompting health officials to start tracing contacts and isolating hundreds of people who have come in contact with the boy. Police also cordoned off a three-kilometer radius around the boy’s home.
So far, two health workers who were in contact with the victim are showing symptoms of the virus and samples from eight primary contacts have tested negative.
Authorities treated Nipah in 2018, when more than a dozen people died from the virus.
Meanwhile, Kerala sees around 20,000 cases of the “Covid-19” virus daily, out of a total of 31,000 cases per day in India.
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What is the Nipah virus?
The Nipah virus is a serious infection that can cause brain swelling and death.
It was first discovered in 1999, in Malaysia, Singapore, when there were 100 dead out of 300 injured.
The virus takes its name from a location in Port Dickson, Malaysia, where the outbreak has been traced to a pig farm.
What are its symptoms?
The Nipah virus tends to start causing symptoms between four days and two weeks after exposure, but it can persist for up to 45 days.
At first, it can cause fever, headache, and sometimes respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, and difficulty breathing.
Patients can develop swelling in the brain, which is medically called encephalitis. It can cause drowsiness, confusion, and confusion.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it can quickly progress to a coma within 48 hours.
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How deadly is it?
Between 40% and 75% of people infected with the Nipah virus die. There is no cure for this disease yet.
And those who survive tend to make a full recovery. But many experience brain problems or lifelong setbacks.
How is it spread?
Infection tends to occur when humans are infected with the Nipah virus from an animal, making it a so-called zoonotic disease.
Contact with sick pigs (Malaysia) or ingestion of fruit contaminated with saliva or urine of infected bats (India) have been attributed to cases of disease.
During an epidemic in 2004, the source was most likely villagers drinking date palm sap contaminated with bats.
But human-to-human transmission of the Nipah virus between family members and caregivers of infected patients has also been reported, so it can be spread between humans as well.
This means that it has the potential to cause a pandemic.
Has there been an epidemic before?
The Nipah virus has caused a few known epidemics in Asia, including Malaysia, India and Bangladesh.
It is possible that places such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines and Thailand are at risk given that there are known areas where bats live.
Source: The Sun
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