A 14-year-old boy infected with the Nipah virus has died, Indian authorities report. People who were in contact with the boy have already been ordered to isolate. The World Health Organization considers this zoonotic virus, transmitted mainly by bats and pigs, to be particularly dangerous.
In the southern state of Kerala Indiaa 14-year-old boy died from Nipah virus infection. Local authorities have already identified 214 people who had contact with the infected person. 60 of them have been classified as high-risk. These are people who are particularly vulnerable to severe disease, which can end in death. The boy's family is in hospital for observation, and other people who had contact with the patient are in isolation in their homes. “At this stage, there is a minimal chance of an outbreak of the Nipah virus” – reassures Dr. Anoop Kumar from Aster MIMS Hospital in Kozhikode.
What is Nipah virus. Symptoms
World Health ORganisation (WHO) has placed the Nipah virus on the list of priority pathogens, meaning those that could cause an epidemic or pandemic. The list also includes: COVID-19Ebola or Zika.
There is currently no vaccine that protects against the Nipah virus, nor is there a known treatment for infected patients. It is known to be a zoonotic virus, transmitted primarily by pigs or bats. In humans, symptoms of infection Initially, they include fever, headache, muscle and throat pain, and vomiting. Then, dizziness, drowsiness, impaired consciousness, and other neurological symptoms suggestive of acute encephalitis may occur. Pneumonia and serious breathing problems, including acute respiratory failure, may also occur. In severe cases, encephalitis and seizures occur, after which the patient falls into a coma.
Nipah virus. High mortality rate
Reuters describes last year's case of a 26-year-old man who was admitted to a hospital in the city of Perambra in India in 2018. Muhammad Sabith died after just two days – none of the antibiotics or antiviral drugs given by doctors helped. After almost two weeks, doctors determined that the cause of death was the Nipah virus. That was enough time for another 22 people to be infected. Only two of them survived.
Reuters report suggests the state of Kerala, as a place particularly at risk of the virus. The study's authors point to deforestation, rapid urban expansion and high livestock density as factors contributing to the spread of the virus. The virus was first reported in Kerala in 2018 and has since led to dozens of deaths in that region alone. The virus has also previously been responsible for outbreaks in Bangladesh and Singapore.
“The mortality rate is very high, around 70 percent. The virus's reproductive rate, or ability to spread, is also very high. Many times higher than COVID,” said Veena George, minister of health and family welfare for the Indian state of Kerala.
Main image source: CK THANSEER / Reuters / Forum