The World Health Organization has classified the Nipah virus as a priority infection that has the potential to cause an epidemic. It may quickly target the respiratory and central nervous systems and often results in deadly encephalitis. It was discovered for the first time in Malaysia in 1999, however, it mostly affects Bangladesh and certain regions of India.
In Bangladesh, officials have advised against drinking raw date juice due to fears that it may be transmitting the Nipah virus, a deadly illness that has had a 70% fatality rate in those infected over the past 20 years.
Bangladesh has experienced recurrent outbreaks of the Nipah virus since its initial detection in 2001. With no available vaccines or treatments, the prognosis is bleak. A recent report by the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) states that out of 330 reported cases, 231 have resulted in death.
This report follows the recent death of a 35-year-old woman in Rajshah, marking the first Nipah fatality of the year in Bangladesh. It is suspected that she was infected by consuming raw date juice that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats’ urine or saliva.
According to Prof Tahmina Shirin, Director of the IEDCR, this is a recurring pattern. The recent report revealed that out of the known cases, at least 139 contracted the virus from consuming raw date juice, which is particularly popular during the winter months.
According to professor Shirin, Nipah virus “has around 71 per cent fatality rate and raw date juice is the main source of contracting it.”
“So,” according to the professor, “we must refrain from consuming it.”
Additionally, roughly 50 people have contracted the virus through human-to-human transmission, the professor added.
The World Health Organization has classified the Nipah virus as a priority infection that has the potential to cause an epidemic. It may quickly target the respiratory and central nervous systems and often results in deadly encephalitis. It was discovered for the first time in Malaysia in 1999, however, it mostly affects Bangladesh and certain regions of India.
There are no known vaccines for the virus yet, but at least eight groups are working on making shots to protect against it.
A team from the University of Texas published results in March of last year demonstrating that, seven days after the first immunization, their candidate offered 100% protection in African green monkeys.
The University of Oxford team that was responsible for the AstraZeneca Covid experiment is now attempting to adapt its ChAdOx1 technology for Nipah.
More studies are required to validate the results, but the study published in Nature showed that immunization “induced a very robust protective immune response,” according to the researchers.
Image Credit: Getty
