Here it comes again! Nipah virus outbreak reappears in India, with a mortality rate of up to 75%

According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, an outbreak of Nipah virus has recently occurred in Kerala, southern India, killing a 12-year-old boy and leaving 11 people with symptoms of infection , including the boy's family members and medical staff who took care of him.

On September 7, India Today reported that this was the second time Kerala had reported an outbreak of Nipah virus in three years. In May 2018, an outbreak of Nipah virus occurred in Kerala, India.

Nipah virus is a very dangerous zoonotic virus with a highly toxicity and a mortality rate of 75% . Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae are natural carriers of Nipah virus. Although Nipah virus is less contagious than the new coronavirus, it has a very high mortality rate and the virus incubation period is as long as 45 days.

Nipah virus can infect a wide range of animals , including pigs, dogs, cats, sheep, horses and other animals. Direct contact between humans and animals or eating contaminated food can cause Nipah virus transmission, and there are also a large number of cases of human-to-human transmission. Therefore, the virus has received great attention from disease control experts.

A 2010 WHO report showed that 75% of Nipah virus infections are fatal (currently about 2% for the new coronavirus), and the remaining 20% ​​of survivors experience persistent neurological symptoms, such as epilepsy and personality changes. There is no treatment or vaccine for Nipah virus, only supportive medical care.

The current global COVID-19 epidemic situation is still not optimistic, and now the Nipah virus with an extremely high mortality rate has emerged, which has made the global epidemic prevention problem even worse. The epidemic has caused supply chain disruptions, container shortages, soaring shipping costs, and rising prices, which have had a serious impact on many industries. Many companies are even facing a devastating blow .

The editor calls on people around the world to face up to the severity of the epidemic, understand the harm of the virus, avoid gathering and spreading it, actively get vaccinated, wear masks and take good protection during the epidemic, and strive to end the epidemic as soon as possible!

Nipah virus outbreak in India