Know Nipah Virus, Deadly Virus That Came from Bats

Roseous.com - Know Nipah Virus, Deadly Virus That Came from Bats. Nipah virus struck India. The virus is suspected of killing at least 10 people in southwest India, including a nurse treating patients.

Nipah virus infection is a disease in animals that are contagious in humans. The Nipah virus comes from the fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, the genus Pteropus.

The Nipah virus was first identified in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. On this occasion, pig is an intermediate host. At that time, the surrounding area has many pig farms. And many farmers plant mango trees near pigsty.

However, in the next Nipah virus outbreak, there is no intermediary host. In 2004, humans became infected with the Nipah virus because it consumed date palms that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats.

About the case in India, Dr. Jon Epstein, veterinarian and wildlife epidemiologist for the EcoHealth Alliance, as quoted by CNBC, said that this is the worst illness. Nipah rarely infects people, but when it does, it can make them very, very sick. This virus causes encephalitis, often fatal brain inflammation and which can cause long-term disability in survivors.

In some outbreaks, it also causes severe respiratory infections, according to the World Health Organization. It can also infect some people without causing any symptoms at all, but it is almost impossible to know how often it happens.

Every outbreak is different. In some previous outbreaks, Nipah virus infections killed 40 percent of people. It can also survive in the body for months and even years.

How can the Nipah virus infect humans? Nipah virus is carried by fruit bats. This virus is not transmitted through biting bites, but occurs when humans and cattle share the fruit with bats.

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The only treatment for Nipah today is supportive care - placing people with respiratory diseases into the ventilator and delivering fluids as the body recovers.

There is no vaccine to prevent Nipah. WHO has asked the researchers to work on the vaccine and treatment of Nipah.