India is currently grappling with an outbreak of the Nipah virus in the southern state of Kerala. Here are the significant details from the ongoing situation:
- The Nipah virus outbreak has already resulted in two deaths and has a fatality rate as high as 75%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Approximately 800 individuals have been tested in recent days, with three people, including a child, being hospitalized following positive diagnoses.
- Health Minister Veena George emphasized a state of “hypervigilance and detection” as experts collect fluid samples from potential hotspots for the virus spread in forested areas.
- Public offices, government buildings, and religious institutions in affected regions have been closed temporarily.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies the Nipah virus as zoonotic, primarily carried by fruit bats in nature, and can cause illnesses in pigs and humans, leading to symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscle pain, and in severe cases, encephalitis and death.
- The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with infected individuals or animals and their bodily fluids, or by consuming contaminated food products.
- Presently, treatment is restricted to supportive care, including rest, hydration, and symptom management.
- Past outbreaks of the Nipah virus in India and Bangladesh in 2001 and 2018 resulted in numerous fatalities.
Source: Fox News