Surprising Facts About Nipah Virus, A new pandemic?

As the coronavirus pandemic has engulfed the nations of the world, health experts are on the alert that the Nipah virus (NiV) has the potential to become a new pandemic, Al-Arabiya reports.

In 1999, scientists announced that the Nipah virus, the scientific name Nipah henipavirus, was responsible for an outbreak of the disease in pigs and people in Malaysia and Singapore. Since then, nearly 300 human cases and more than 100 deaths, and caused substantial economic impact as more than 1 million pigs were killed to help control the outbreak, CDC said.

You probably don’t know more about the Nipah Virus. But we are learning more every day. This article is all about giving you what health experts are learning about a bat-borne virus and its causes, Nipah virus infection, including the symptoms and how it might be treated.

A report sighted by Mandy News said that the Nipah virus deserves attention from world health experts as an outbreak of the virus in China, with a fatality rate of up to 75 per cent, could potentially be the next big pandemic.

As seen in The Guardian, The executive director of the Netherlands-based Access to Medicine Foundation, Jayasree K Iyer said; “Nipah virus is another emerging infectious disease that causes great concern. Nipah could blow any moment. The next pandemic could be a drug-resistant infection”

What is the Nipah virus?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted to people from animals and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person to person.

Where was the first case of the Nipah virus identified?

The first human cases of the bat-borne virus that causes Nipah virus infection in humans and other animals, scientific name Nipah henipavirus were first reported in Malaysia, in 1999.

Countries Nipah virus has spread to

During the first recognized outbreak in Malaysia, also affected Singapore, evidence of the virus has been found in the known natural reservoir (Pteropus bat species) and several other bat species in some countries, including Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Madagascar, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Symptoms of Nipah virus

The main symptoms of the Nipah virus, also known as Nipah henipavirus cause mild to severe disease, including swelling of the brain (encephalitis) and potentially death.