Nipah virus: Signs and symptoms of the virus and how to prevent it
It is a viral infection caused by the Nipah virus. The Nipah virus is a type of RNA virus of family Paramyxoviridaein the genus Henipavirus. The virus normally circulates among specific types of fruit bats.It can spread between people and from other animals to people.
In 2018, an outbreak of the disease resulted in atleast 16 deaths in the Indian state of Kerala.It was first identified in 1998 during an outbreak in Malaysia while the virus was isolated in 1999. It is named after a village in Malaysia, Sungai Nipah.
This transmits to humans after direct contact with infected bats, infected pigs, or from other NIV infected people.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms start to appear within 3–14 days after exposure.
Symptoms like:
Fever
Headache
Cough
Shortness of breath
Drowsiness followed by disorientation and mental confusion.
This may worsen into a coma over a day or two. Complications can include inflammation of the brain.
Avoid it
The infection can be prevented by avoiding exposure to bats in endemic areas and sick pigs. Drinking of raw palm sap (palm toddy) contaminated by bat excretes, eating of fruits partially consumed by bats and using water from wells infested by bats should be avoided.
How to treat it
There is no such effective treatment for NIV. It can be avoided by preventing the transmission of the infection from person to person. All suspected cases of NIV should be given intensive supportive care. Passive immunization using a human monoclonal antibody that targets the Nipah G glycoprotein has been evaluated in the ferret model as post-exposure prophylaxis.
Subunit vaccines which containHendra G protein was found to produce cross-protective antibodies against henipavirus and nipavirus has been used in monkeys and horses to protect against Hendra virus, although its potential for use in humans has not been studied.
