UK Edition
Nipah virus kills boy, 12, sparking a health emergency in southern India
Authorities are racing to identify more than 180 people the boy came into contact with before he died
The death of a 12-year-old boy from the deadly Nipah virus has sparked a health emergency in the southern Indian state of Kerala, as the authorities race to identify more than 180 people he came into contact with.
Before he died, the boy was admitted to five separate hospitals in Kerala and already two healthcare workers, as well as his mother, have been isolated after developing symptoms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) lists Nipah as a virus with pandemic potential. It attacks the brain, can spread from human-to-human and has a fatality rate as high as 75 per cent.
Kerala has previously seen several outbreaks of Nipah and in 2018, 17 out of the 18 people infected died. India’s worst outbreak of the virus occurred in 2001 in the northwestern state of West Bengal when 45 out of 66 people confirmed to have had Nipah died.
Public health experts are concerned the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic could result in this Nipah outbreak becoming the worst in India’s history. Kerala is reporting over 60 percent of India’s new daily Covid-19 cases and its hospitals are already overflowing.
The Indian media reported that the boy who died in Kerala was passed between five hospitals because of care shortages caused by Covid – potentially infecting many others along the way.
The initial symptoms of the Nipah virus are similar to those of Covid-19 and include fever, headaches, and muscle pain. However, if not treated immediately the infection can progress to encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – within days.
The authorities in Kerala have urged residents to get tested for the Nipah virus if they develop any symptoms and to not assume any fever or muscle pain is Covid-19 or any other seasonal infection.
The 12-year-old boy hailed from the remote village of Chathamangalam. Three surrounding districts, home to several thousand people, have been completely sealed and movement restricted in and out.
Dr Arun N Madhavan, one of Kerala’s leading doctors, advised residents to adhere to Covid-19 precautions to avoid contracting the disease.
“People should continue to wear masks and practice social distancing to stop the Nipah virus from spreading. In hospitals, doctors and nurses can also wear PPE,” said Dr Madhavan.
Nipah was first identified in Malaysia in 1998 and there have since been multiple outbreaks of the virus in south and southeastern Asian nations.
There are currently no drugs available to treat Nipah, although the WHO has identified the virus as a priority disease for the development of a vaccine.
The Oxford team behind the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is developing a jab against Nipah and in June said they had made a “big step forward” after an early-stage trial of their vaccine on African green monkeys elicited a robust immune response.
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