Discuss the transmission, signs, treatment and control of NIPAH Virus Disease?
What is NIPAH virus?
- Nipah Virus is a zoonotic virus-transmitted from animals to humans. Other examples include swine flu, bird flu
- Nipah virus is highly infectious
- The Nipah virus is a member of the genus Henipavirusin the family Paramyxoviridae
- The virus is an RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus and mutates very fast
- The disease was named after Kampung Sungai Nipah (Nipah River Village), Malaysia, where the first viral isolate was obtained
- Closely related to Hendra virus
- There is debate over whether the disease is air borne
Host:
- Fruit bats (Pteropus), popularly known as flying foxes are natural reservoir hosts of Nipah Virus
Transmission:/ Direct contact with:
- Infected Bats
- Infected Pigs
Other NiV infected people:
- Transmission through respiratory droplets, saliva, contact with infected tissues, other bodily secretions
- Consumption of fruit or fruit products contaminated with urine or saliva of infected bats-Indirect transmission
- The secondary wave of transmission occurs from human-human contact and is most challenging for health authorities to combat
- Nipah virus infection generally has a stuttering chain of transmission-Once the virus moves from bats to humans; it generally spreads to people in close contact with the patients
Signs and Symptoms in Humans:
- Infection associated with inflammation of brain
- Initial symptoms include fever, headache, respiratory problem followed by drowsiness, disorientation and mental confusion
- These could progress to coma and ultimately to death
Mortality rate:High; 40-75%
- Long term effects in those who survive: persistent convulsions, personality changes
- Latent infections with subsequent reactivation of Nipah virus and death have also been reported
Diagnosis:
- Viral isolation from throat and nasal swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and blood using Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)
Treatment:
- No vaccine or antiviral drug available for either people or animals.
- Intensive supportive care with treatment of symptoms is the main approach to managing the infection in people
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