No new cases of Nipah, a deadly virus, have been recorded in India since September 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday (October 3rd), after an outbreak that killed two people earlier this month. From 12 to 15 September, six cases of Nipah were confirmed, including two deaths, in Kozhikode district, Kerala state, southern India. There is no vaccine against this virus whose mortality rate is between 40% and 75%, according to the WHO.
The first case, whose source of contamination has not been identified, had then transmitted the virus to relatives and people within the hospital, said the WHO in an update on the epidemic. As of September 27, 1,288 contacts of confirmed cases have been traced including high-risk contacts and health workers who have been quarantined and monitored for 21 days, WHO said. Since Sept. 12, 387 samples have been tested, six of which have tested positive, the UN health agency said. "Since September 15, no new cases have been detected," the WHO said.
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Fruit bats are the natural carriers of the virus and have been identified as the most likely cause of subsequent outbreaks. Nipah is usually transmitted to humans through contaminated animals or food. It can also be transmitted directly between humans but this mode of contamination is rarer, according to the WHO. The incubation period, i.e. the time between infection and the onset of symptoms, ranges from four to fourteen days, but can be up to 45 days. Symptoms include intense fever, vomiting and respiratory infection but severe cases may be characterized by seizures and brain inflammation resulting in coma.
In 2018, the virus killed at least 17 people in Kerala. Nipah has been listed by the WHO – alongside Ebola, Zika and Covid-19 – as one of many diseases deserving priority research because of their potential to cause a global outbreak.