dogs<\/a>, cats, goats, horses and sheep. Currently there is no proven treatment for a Nipah virus infection.<\/p>\n![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_MAIN-Professors.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Professor Paul Hunter (left) and Dr Efstathios Giotis<\/p>\n
Here four leading virologists provide a run down on Nipah including how deadly it is and how likely it is to spread.<\/p>\n
Dr Efstathios Giotis – Lecturer in Molecular Virology at the University of Essex<\/p>\n
\u201cNipah virus is a relatively rare zoonotic infection that primarily originates in fruit bats and can occasionally pass to pigs and humans, either directly or through contaminated food. In some circumstances, it can spread between people, particularly during close contact in healthcare settings.<\/p>\n
\u201cInfection can be severe, affecting the lungs and brain, and there is currently no licensed vaccine or specific treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event is not unusual in the context of Nipah virus. Similar, small-scale outbreaks have occurred previously in India, including in West Bengal and Kerala. As in past incidents, the number of cases remains limited and the public-health response has been swift and targeted.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the general population, the risk remains low. Nipah virus does not spread easily and typically requires close, prolonged exposure to an infected person or specific animal-related routes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile vigilance is warranted, there is no evidence to suggest a broader public health threat at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Kaja Abbas – Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)<\/p>\n
\u201cNipah virus is a zoonotic RNA virus that causes severe respiratory and neurological disease in humans, potentially progressing from fever and headache to acute encephalitis [brain inflammation].<\/p>\n
![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_MAIN-Professors2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Professor Ian Jones (left) and Dr Kaja Abbas<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 2001, sporadic but recurring outbreaks have occurred, especially in Bangladesh and India. In addition to zoonotic transmission from animals such as fruit bats to humans, human-to-human transmission and transmission from contaminated fruit products (such as date palm juice) to humans also occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 2001, sporadic but recurring outbreaks have occurred, especially in Bangladesh and India.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to zoonotic transmission from animals such as fruit bats to humans, human-to-human transmission, and transmission from contaminated fruit products – such as date palm juice – to humans also occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe basic reproduction number of the Nipah virus is typically below 1, suggesting limited human-to-human transmission and a low likelihood of widespread pandemic spread.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul Hunter – Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia<\/p>\n
“Nipah virus infection is a rare infectious disease but one that can pose a significant risk of death. The death rates vary between and have been as low as 9% or as high as 90% of known cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, up to about half of infections may not cause any symptoms. The incubation period is usually about one to two weeks but can be longer.<\/p>\n
“Although Nipah is a very serious infection, it is unlikely to pose a significant risk of global spread as the risk of person-to-person transmission is low. Nevertheless, we cannot be complacent as we have seen recently, some virus can mutate to increased infectivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ian Jones – Professor of Virology, University of Reading<\/p>\n
\u201cNipah is a bat virus that causes occasional zoonotic outbreaks, most of which are associated with the seasonal consumption of foodstuffs contaminated by bat urine. Like other zoonotics such as Avian flu or Ebola, the case fatality rate is high, but the virus does not transmit effectively person to person.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe at-risk groups are therefore close family members and the healthcare workers who treat the primary cases. The risk to the general public from Nipah is essentially nil as the virus has never shown any evidence of general spread.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UKHSA says the risk for tourists visiting endemic countries is \u201cvery low\u201d if the following precautions are followed:<\/p>\n
Avoid contact with bats and their environments, and sick animalsDon’t consume raw or partially fermented date palm sapWash all fruit thoroughly with clean water and peel before eatingWear protective clothing and gloves if handling sick animalsPractice good hand hygiene, particularly after caring for or visiting sick peopleAvoid close, unprotected contact with anyone infected with the Nipah virus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four top virologists provide a run down on the Nipah virus emerging from India – including how deadly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2211,71299,59,102,149021,56,54,55,149020],"class_list":["post-397601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-coronavirus","tag-ebola-virus","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-marburg-virus","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-zika-virus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_GettyImages-1224005745.jpg\")
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