Authorities are investigating whether deaths in a third Indian state are caused by Nipah virus after the disease has so far killed at least 11 in southern Kerala. What exactly is Nipah virus and where does it come from?
Minor Outbreak In Kerala, India
In southern Kerala, at least 11 people have died because of a minor Nipah virus outbreak that has also caused 25 others to become hospitalized. So far, investigations lead officials to believe that the outbreak has not yet spread to other states, as they linked the initial deaths to a specific well that has been colonized by bats. It is the water from the said well that the victims had been using.
Further, suspected cases in other states have tested negative for the virus, and all the confirmed cases were linked to people who got the infection from the first victim. A cluster of dead bats in Himachal Pradesh also caused a brief scare, but no human infections have been recorded in the state.
That said, as minor and local as the outbreak is, authorities are still taking necessary precautions to ensure that it remains as such.
"This is the first time we've seen the virus in south India. And we want to make sure that it stays contained here," said R.L. Sarita, the director of health services in Kerala.
What To Know About Nipah Virus
Nipah virus is a newly emerging disease that can cause serious harm to both humans and animals. It is related to the Hendra virus, and is one of the World Health Organization's priority diseases.
Its natural host are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, and it was first identified just 20 years ago in 1998 when an outbreak occurred in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia. At the time, pigs were the intermediate hosts, but further outbreaks did not have intermediate hosts.
The virus is spread through bodily fluids that can be passed from one creature to another. For instance, the 2004 outbreak in Bangladesh happened when the victims consumed raw date palm sap that had also been sipped by infected bats. What's more, in the latest outbreak, one of the victims is a nurse who was infected while treating an infected patient.
As in the case of the first outbreak in 1998, bats may pass the virus to other animals and livestock, which can then pass it on to humans. In regard to the current outbreak, authorities are testing local livestock and food, as well as the fruits of a mango tree in the home of a family that lost four members to the virus, to see if the fruits have been bitten and infected by bats.
What's The Threat?
The current understanding of Nipah virus so far is that the virus first attacks the respiratory system, and then spreads to the nervous system and the brain. At the late stages of the disease, most of the infected who die succumb to brain swelling and blood vessel inflammation.
Nipah virus is a rather lethal disease. Since it was first described, there had been small outbreaks in Asia and Bangladesh every year, but experts believe it can still spread in other regions especially since its bat hosts can live as far as West Africa and Australia.
So far, there is no vaccine for Nipah virus, and treatments are mainly supportive care for its symptoms which include mental confusion, fever, vomiting, encephalitis, and disorientation.
That said, experts and researchers are continuously trying to understand the virus. So far, it is believed that the two known strains of Nipah virus are both not easily transmitted. What's more, just this week, a global coalition struck a $25-million deal with two biotechnology groups to speed up the work on a vaccine.
