An outbreak of the potentially deadly Nipah virus in India is “concerning and serious”, experts have warned. India’s Nipah virus outbreak—while “concerning and serious”—is also neither unprecedented nor unexpected, and does not represent a global emergency.
This is the statement of experts from the Global Virus Network (GVN), a group of human and animal virologists from more than 90 leading research centres across 40 countries. Professor Linfa Wang, PhD, Director of the GVN Center of Excellence at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, saiid: “Overall, the risk of regional or global spread of Nipah virus is very low.
“Similar outbreaks have occurred repeatedly in India and Bangladesh, driven largely by specific cultural and environmental factors rather than sustained human transmission.”
According to the World Health Organization, there have been only two confirmed cases of Nipah virus infection in the present outbreak in West Bengal, India.
The authorities have followed up with contact tracing on 196 other individuals, all of whom have tested negative for the virus.
Nipah (Henipavirus nipahense)—which was first recorded in 1998—is a serious and frequently fatal zoonotic virus, which is carried by fruit bats and can infect animals (often pigs) and humans.
Its initial symptoms include a cough, difficulty breathing, fever, headache and a sore throat. As the infection develops, some patients may also develop a serious complication known as encephalitis—an inflammation of the brain.
Nipah virus has a very high mortality rate, with the WHO reporting that it is estimated that between 40 and 75 percent of cases may result in death.
Humans who contract the virus typically do so by contact with infected animals or contaminated food. Human-to-human transmission is possible, but is fortunately rare.
The GVN said that it is closely monitoring the outbreak in West Bengal, including via the Institute of Advanced Virology in Kerala, where researchers are engaged in surveillance of the virus and the development of new diagnostic tests.
“Countries with strong public-health systems and surveillance capacity are well positioned to mitigate the risk posed by Nipah virus,” the network said in a statement.
Key to such efforts, they added, are “early detection, clinical awareness and rapid diagnostics”.
According to the GVN, though the latest cases of Nipah virus are not cause for global alarm, the outbreak does “highlight the ongoing importance of surveillance, diagnostics and globally connected scientific networks to detect and defend against emerging infectious threats.”
While Nipah virus infection can be confirmed via laboratory testing, at present there is no proven individual treatment for the disease—nor is there a vaccine to protect against it.
Patients who have contracted the infection are typically prescribed rest and hydration, as well as treatments to combat individual symptoms.
Several experimental therapies—based around monoclonal antibodies, fusion inhibitors and novel antivirals—are presently in development or undergoing initial clinical trials.
Wang added: “Progress depends on sustained public-good investment and international cooperation.”