All You Need To Know About This Deadly Virus called Nipah virus
Nipah Virus is an emerging infectious disease that broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999. It first appeared in domestic pigs and has been found among several species of domestic animals including dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep. The infection is also known to affect human beings. The organism which causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.
Nipah Virus Explained by SAMIR UDDIN Consultacy
3. What is Nipah Virus?
• Nipah Virus is an emerging infectious disease that broke
out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999. It first
appeared in domestic pigs and has been found among
several species of domestic animals including dogs, cats,
goats, horses and sheep. The infection is also known to
affect human beings. The organism which causes Nipah
Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of
the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is
closely related to Hendra virus.
4.
5. How does it spread?
• The virus spreads directly from
human-to-human through close
contact with people's secretions and
excretions. Eating partially-eaten fruits
by infected bats and partially-cooked
meat of infected animals can also
trigger the virus. Drinking date palm
sap/toddy/juice can also cause the
infection.
7. Symptoms of the Nipah infection
• Typically, the human infection presents as an
encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, headache,
drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma,
and potentially death. During the outbreak in
Malaysia, up to 50 per cent of clinically apparent
human cases died. There is no specific treatment for
Nipah Virus. The primary treatment for human cases
is intensive supportive care.
8. Prevention
Avoid close (unprotected) physical contact with infected people
Wear NH95-grade and higher masks
Wash hands regularly with soap
Avoid consuming partly eaten fruits or unpasteurised fruit juices
Avoid being around anima pens
Boil freshly collected date palm juice before consuming
Thoroughly wash and peel fruits before consuming
Maintain your and children's personal hygiene
Cover your household properly
9. 5 point about Nipah virus by-Dr. Sameer Gupta
The fatality has been reported at anywhere between 75 per cent and 100 per cent
Nipah virus affects the brain. An infected person will have fever, weakness and lethargy.
Nipah virus infection is an example of a zoonotic disease, where animal diseases can be
transmitted to people. In a zoonotic disease, the chances of a human being getting the
disease will be lesser if the animal is given adequate antibiotics.
There have been cases of human-to-human transmission too. However, it is still being
studied whether the transmission happened because everyone was exposed to the same
infected person or if the same source passed on the infection to another person.
The Nipah virus has a tendency to adapt or mutate, like the H1N1 virus. If you get a swine
flu or influenza vaccination this year, the effect of the vaccination may not be last through
to the next year because the virus would have mutated by then. And that is why such
viruses are very deadly. Some of the deadliest diseases in the world are viral-borne
diseases.
10. Conclusion
• Nipah virus and Hendra virus are very closely related, and their infection signaling
in very similar ways.
• The food safety department launched massive inspections in the city on Tuesday
in the wake of Nipah scare. They create awareness among the public, fruit-juice
stalls and wayside vendors against the deadly virus. The sellers of blueberry, guava
and mango were alerted on the need quality fruits and not to sell fruits the origin
of which is not known.