Nipah Virus

Nipah Virus is a zoonotic disease that is caused by a virus belonging to the Henipavirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family. In this article, you will learn about nipah Virus’ definition, history, nipah symptoms, nipah virus causes, nipah virus cure, etc.

This article will provide key insights for GS Paper- III Science and Technology section of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• Table of Content              
• What is Nipah Virus?     
• History of Nipah Virus outbreak
• How does Nipah Virus spreads from Animals to Human?
• Nipah virus image
• Transmission of Nipah Virus from human to human
• Signs and Symptoms of Nipah Virus
• Diagnosis of Nipah Virus               
• Treatment of Nipah Virus
• Prevention against Nipah Virus
• Nipah Virus Outbreak map          
• Nipah Virus outbreak in India
• Conclusion         
• Frequently Asked Questions       
• Reference           

What is Nipah Virus?  

• Nipah Virus is a zoonotic disease that is caused by a virus belonging to the Henipavirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family.
• The virus initiates by spreading from animals (primarily fruit bats) to humans.

History of Nipah Virus outbreak

• Origin of Nipah virus: the discovery of Nipah virus (NiV) was done in 1999 and 1998 when an outbreak has affected both pigs and humans in Malaysia and Singapore.
• After this incident, no subsequent outbreaks of NiV has been reported in Malaysia and Singapore
• However, the virus causes yearly outbreaks in parts of Asia and mostly Bangladesh and India.

How does Nipah Virus spreads from Animals to Human?

• The fruit bat or the flying fox acts as the animal host reservoir for NiV.
• The virusis genetically related to Hendra virus, another henipavirus carried by bats.
• Infected fruit bats can transmit the virus to humans or other animals, such as pigs.
• Human infection occurs through close contact with an infected animal or its bodily fluids, such as saliva or urine.
  • This initial transmission from animal to human is known as a spillover event.
• Consuming food products that have been contaminated by the body fluids of infected animals, such as palm sap or fruit that has come into contact with an infected bat helps in spreading the disease.
• An individual can also come into contact with trees where bats rests, such as those who climb such trees.
• During the initial outbreak of NiV, people had contracted the virus through close contact with infected pigs.
• Once the virus spreads to humans, person-to-person transmission of NiV becomes possible.

Transmission of Nipah Virus from human to human:

• Nipah Virus gets transmitted from human to human via close contact with an infected individual through their body fluids, including nasal or respiratory droplets, urine, or blood.
• In Bangladesh and India, person-to-person transmission of NiV is more common than other regions.

Signs and Symptoms of Nipah Virus:

Alt text: effects of nipah virus

• The incubation period of symptoms is 4-14 days after exposure to the virus.
• Some of the common symptoms also includes- difficulty breathing, brain swelling (encephalitis), drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, disorientation, seizures or coma.
• Those who survive the infection may suffer from long-term side effects, such as persistent convulsions and changes in personality.
• The infections may also lead to symptoms or even death after months or years of exposure.
  • This is also known as dormant or latent infections.
• Nipah has a relatively highcase fatality ratio which means it may lead to death in most of the cases.
  • In 40-75% of cases, death may occur.

Diagnosis of Nipah Virus:

• It can be detected using the real–time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from throat and nasal swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and blood samples.
• As the illness progresses, antibody testing can be conducted using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Treatment of Nipah Virus:

• Medicine for Nipah virus: Currently there is no approved medications for treating Nipah virus (NiV) infection.
• The primary approach to manage the disease includes providing supportive care, such as rest, adequate fluid intake, and addressing individual symptoms as and when they arise.
• The antiviral drug remdesivir has shown effectiveness in treatment.
• The drug ribavirin was used to treat patients during the outbreak in Malaysia.
• Vaccine: No vaccination has been approved to be administered to the people.

Prevention against Nipah Virus

• Individuals residing in or visiting the areas where fruit bats occurs should take precautions while going in this region.

Other prevention strategies include:

• Enhance surveillance of animals and people in NiV-affected prone areas.
• Conduct research on the habits of fruit bats to comprehend their habitats and how they transmit the virus to other animals and humans.
• Evaluate innovative technologies or methods to minimize the spread of the virus within bat populations.
• Improve early detection tools for the virus within communities and livestock.

Nipah Virus Outbreak map

Nipah Virus outbreak in India:

• In 2019, the Kerala State Health department has reported the first case of Nipah virus disease in Ernakulam district of Kerala.
  • The other case occurred in 2021 in Kozhikode district of Kerala.
  • The death caused by nipah virus in Kerala was 17.
• As the occurrence of virus in India was only found in two districts of Kerala, government has only issued guidelines for prevention from contracting disease and in case of infection the process to handle such cases.
  • Hence, no major programme for its prevention or cure was launched by the Government of India.

Conclusion

The Nipah virus is a highly infectious zoonotic pathogen that poses a significant threat to both human and animal health. In order to mitigate the risk of any future outbreaks, it is important to strengthen surveillance systems, enhance public health infrastructure, and promote interdisciplinary research to better understand the factors contributing to the emergence and transmission of the Nipah virus.

Ref:

Source-1

FAQs(Frequently Asked Questions)