Why in news? A fresh case of Nipah virus was confirmed in Kozhikode, where two people were killed by the brain-damaging virus recently

Highlights:

• Cases of the virus transmitted from animals, such as bats or pigs, to humans and from human to human  have been confirmed.

About Nipah Virus  

• Bat-borne, zoonotic virus
• It belongs to the genus Henipavirus along with the Hendra virus, that also cause disease outbreaks
• It can both spread between people and from other animals to people
• It is transmitted through contact with infected animals “fruit bats”(reservoir of virus) and with contaminated food or direct contact with infected animals
• First reported in Malaysia
• Symptoms
• Fever, headache, cough, sore throat, difficulty in breathing, and vomiting
• Severe cases can lead to potentially leading to encephalitis, coma, and death
• Treatment – As per WHO, currently, there is no vaccine against Nipah virus. There are also no specific drugs that are prescribed for treatment