TAG: GS-2: HEALTH
CONTEXT: A 24-year-old man from Kerala’s Malappuram district died from Nipah virus, confirmed by the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
EXPLANATION:
What is Nipah Virus?
- Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted via animals to humans.
- The organism which causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.
- It was first broken out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.
- It first appeared in domestic pigs and has been found among several species of domestic animals including dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.
- Transmission
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- The disease spreads through fruit bats or ‘flying foxes,’ of the genus Pteropus, who are natural reservoir hosts of the Nipah and Hendra viruses.
- The virus is present in bat urine and potentially, bat faeces, saliva, and birthing fluids.
- Symptoms
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- Typically, the human infection presents as an encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, and potentially death
- Treatment: There is no definitive treatment available for the virus.
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