Published on: September 6, 2021

NIPAH VIRUS

NIPAH VIRUS

What is in news : Kerala reports mortality due to Nipah.

Details :

  • Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans).
  • The infection is generally transmitted from animals to human beings, mainly from bats and pigs.
  • Human-to-human transmission is also possible, and so is transmission from contaminated food.
  • The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family and Pteropus genus, widely found in South and South East Asia.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) says the infection has been found to be fatal in 40% to 75% of the infected patients.
  • There is no treatment, nor any vaccine is available as of now, either for humans or animals.
  • Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in, Malaysia.
  • In India, the first outbreak was in 2001 in Siliguri. Another outbreak happened in 2007 in Nadia of West Bengal.