What Makes Nipah Virus Dangerous and How to Protect Against It
The human immune system is not yet familiar with this virus and fights it as a new infection.
The world is discussing the spread of the Nipah virus in India, for which there is no vaccine. Experts explained the features of the disease and its level of danger.
What Rospotrebnadzor Says
According to the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), India is taking measures to localize the Nipah virus outbreak after the number of infected in West Bengal state rose to five.
Rospotrebnadzor is monitoring the situation. Specialists have developed a modern test system for detecting the virus. It is reported that there are no cases of infection in Russia.
The Nipah virus is transmitted to humans from animals — for example, from bats or pigs. Transmission through contaminated food and from person to person is also possible.
«In recent years, Nipah virus outbreaks have been regularly noted in India, while human cases are also recorded in Southeast Asian countries,» writes the Rospotrebnadzor press service.
The agency recommends thoroughly washing hands, using antiseptics, avoiding water from unverified sources and contact with sick animals. And if signs of illness appear, such as high fever, cough, severe headache — consult a doctor.
At the end of January, Rospotrebnadzor clarified that the main sources and carriers are fruit bats. Their habitat is tropical forests.
The first symptoms of the disease are severe headache, general weakness, increased body temperature, and signs of central nervous system damage.
«The Figures Are Largely Alarming»
Infectious disease specialist Andrey Pozdnyakov, the chief physician of the Invitro clinical diagnostic laboratory, notes that this virus has actually been known for quite some time, and disease outbreaks occur regularly. Nipah belongs to the same family as parainfluenza viruses.
«Since this virus is relatively new to the human population, the immune system reacts to it ineffectively. There is no protection passed down from generation to generation. The human immune system is not yet familiar with this virus and fights it as a new infection, which explains the severity of clinical manifestations,» the doctor explains.
There is currently no therapy that directly targets the virus. But with adequate supportive therapy, mortality is significantly lower, which is quite logical.
Clinical manifestations caused by the Nipah virus range from mild and even asymptomatic forms to extremely severe conditions.
«The number of carriers is unknown: theoretically, for every severely ill person, there may be dozens or hundreds of infected individuals without pronounced symptoms. In that case, the real lethality would be significantly lower than the stated figures, so such indicators are largely alarming. Nevertheless, further monitoring of the situation is necessary,» Andrey Pozdnyakov is sure.
He explained that citing a fatality rate of 40–70% is not entirely correct. It refers to mortality among identified patients, mainly among severe cases.
Andrey Pozdnyakov emphasizes that a person can become infected not only through contact with bats but also by consuming date palm sap or fruits that have been contaminated by infected bats. Therefore, it is better to consume tropical fruits and plant juices only after heat treatment.
Earlier, we reported that vaccination against a widespread virus that causes cancer is proposed to be included in the national vaccination calendar.
