Deadly Nipah virus may keep spreading across South Asia, WHO warns

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the deadly Nipah virus may continue to spread in South Asia due to the pathogen’s insufficiently understood nature.

WHO’s official representative in Geneva, Tarik Jasarevic, told Russia's RIA Novosti that the Nipah virus reservoir exists in bat populations in certain regions of India and Bangladesh, including West Bengal, Caliber.Az reports, citing RBC.

He emphasised the need to raise public awareness about risk factors, including the consumption of date palm sap.

Nipah virus is characterised by a high mortality rate (between 40% and 75%) and currently has no vaccine or effective treatment. It was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and is classified by the WHO as a high-risk pathogen.

Last week, The Economic Times reported an outbreak in India’s West Bengal state, near Kolkata. Five infection cases have been confirmed, three of which were recorded last week. Among the infected are a doctor, a nurse, and another healthcare worker. Around 100 people who had contact with the patients have been placed under quarantine.

The first two cases of the outbreak were detected immediately after the New Year in two nurses, one of whom is currently in a coma. The source of infection is believed to be a patient who died before laboratory tests could identify the disease.

By Khagan Isayev