The globe is anxiously observing the proliferation of the Nipah virus, which exhibits a fatality rate reaching up to 75%.
Scanning travelers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport (Thailand) / © Associated Press
A surge of the Nipah virus, against which no immunization or remedy exists, has been documented in the Indian province of West Bengal. Owing to the elevated death rate, several Asian nations have already enforced stringent health protocols for individuals entering from India.
This information is provided by BBC News Russian Service.
Thailand has implemented heightened traveler examinations at three airports receiving incoming flights from West Bengal. In Nepal, monitoring is being performed not solely at the Kathmandu airport, but also at terrestrial boundary crossings with India.
Similar actions were enacted in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, where medical oversight was reinforced at the borders.
At the beginning of January, five healthcare practitioners in West Bengal showed positive results for the Nipah virus, with one in critical condition. Around 110 individuals who interacted with the affected have been placed in quarantine.
The causative agent can be conveyed from creatures to humans. Given the absence of a vaccine or efficacious therapy, the mortality rate remains exceedingly high, varying between 40% and 75%.
Strengthening control in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
The 24.kg news outlet, citing the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health, indicated on January 27 that not a single instance of contamination has been identified within the country.
“There is no basis for alarm. The nation’s healthcare infrastructure is prepared to respond swiftly to any conceivable epidemiological risks,” the ministry stated. It further affirmed that sanitary monitoring has been amplified at the state frontier “to avert the potential ingress of contagion.”
Uzbekistan also conveyed a lack of instances, and border inspections have equally been augmented. The country’s governing bodies emphasized that “the likelihood of this illness penetrating our country is exceedingly low.”
Earlier, the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan proclaimed the enhancement of sanitary and quarantine surveillance at the border “with specific focus on persons arriving from India and other territories of Southeast Asia.”
What is known about the Nipah virus: symptoms
The Nipah virus can be transmitted to humans from fauna, including swine and bats, and from one individual to another through tainted sustenance.
Due to its prospective epidemic danger, the World Health Organization has enlisted Nipah amongst the ten most perilous ailments, alongside Covid-19 and the Zika virus.
The incubation span stretches from 4 to 14 days. The disease progression can range from asymptomatic to acute.
Initial indicators:
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elevated temperature,
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cephalalgia,
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muscular discomfort,
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emesis,
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pharyngitis,
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Some sufferers undergo somnolence, disorientation, and pneumonia.
In extreme scenarios, encephalitis, a potentially lethal cerebral inflammation, may ensue.
Currently, there are no sanctioned pharmaceuticals or immunizations to address the Nipah virus.
Where have Nipah virus outbreaks been recorded before?
The inaugural documented outbreak of Nipah occurred in 1998 on pig farms in Malaysia, after which the infection broadened to Singapore. The virus acquires its designation from the village wherein it was initially discovered.
Over 100 individuals perished then, and approximately a million swine were exterminated to restrain the propagation of the ailment, inflicting substantial economic damages to the agricultural domain.
In ensuing years, Bangladesh bore the brunt, with in excess of 100 demises since 2001. In India, flare-ups were registered in West Bengal in 2001 and 2007. In recent times, the province of Kerala has evolved into the primary epicenter of the virus: in 2018, 19 instances were logged, 17 of which resulted in fatalities, and in 2023, two out of the six verified cases proved deadly.
What is happening now?
As of the past week, a minimum of five instances of contamination have been validated in West Bengal, all associated with a private medical facility in the city of Barasat.
Two nurses are confined to intensive care, with one remaining in “extremely grave” form, local press relayed, citing the province’s health department.
Thailand on January 25 augmented scrutiny of travelers at three international airports in Bangkok and Phuket that accommodate inbound flights from West Bengal. Passengers are being required to complete health questionnaires.
Furthermore, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Authority of Thailand has intensified controls in favored tourist destinations.
Department of Disease Control spokesperson Jurai Wongswasdi articulated that authorities were “generally assured” in their proficiency to forestall a breakout within the country.
Concurrently, Taiwan’s health bodies have set in motion the addition of the Nipah virus into the register of “category five diseases.” Under the prevailing scheme, this tier encompasses novel or infrequent contagions that pose a grave hazard to communal health and mandate specific regulatory procedures.
As a reminder, five instances of Nipah virus infection have been detected in the Indian province of West Bengal, encompassing medical personnel at a private clinic adjacent to Kolkata. One of the nurses is comatose, and approximately 200 persons are under observation. The virus, which is transferred from bats, pigs, or through contaminated nourishment, triggers fever and critical encephalitis. Attributable to the dearth of vaccines and a mortality quotient of up to 75%, the WHO has recognized Nipah as a foremost menace with pandemic capability. Specialists advise individuals to circumvent interaction with undomesticated animals and comprehensively cleanse victuals.