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Deadly Nipah Virus returns (India)

DucknCover

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"A 12-year-old boy died after contracting the Nipah virus in north Kerala’s Kozhikode on Sunday, triggering fear of a possible outbreak of another deadly virus while the state is still struggling to contain the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic."


At least 18 close contacts, mainly relatives and health workers, of the boy and 150 secondary contacts were identified and quarantined.
Among the first group two health workers later showed symptoms of Nipah, the minister said.

“There is no need to panic.
But strict vigil is the need of the hour.
We have a strict Nipah protocol and we will go by that,” said the minister in Kozhikode after attending a high-powered meeting also attended by two other ministers, A K Saseendran and Mohamad Riyaz.


In 2018 the last outbreak of the deadly virus claimed 17 lives in a span of ten days.
 

Eleven contacts of the 12-year-old boy who died due to Nipah virus have shown symptoms of the disease, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Monday, according to NDTV.
The government has identified 251 people who came in contact with the boy and 129 of them are healthcare workers. They are said to be in a stable condition.


The underlying cause of outbreaks has been cited as direct contact with infected pigs, other infected animals, contaminated fruits (half-eaten fruits left by fruit bats), and even direct contact with sick people.

The Nipah virus, or NiV, was first discovered after an outbreak in pigs and humans in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999. It resulted in nearly 300 humans getting infected, of which 100 died. It also had a significant economic impact, as over 1 million pigs were slaughtered to help staunch the outbreak. Annual outbreaks of this virus are common in Asian countries such as Bangladesh and India.
 
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A house-to-house survey was conducted within a three-km-radius from the house of the deceased child. The survey was held in around 15,000 houses and involved around 68,000 persons. The surveillance team sought details of any unusual fever or unnatural deaths in these areas," Vijayan said, adding that no such cases were reported in the survey.

The survey was held in around 15,000 houses and involved around 68,000 persons.
The surveillance team sought details of any unusual fever or unnatural deaths in these areas," Vijayan said, adding that no such cases were reported in the survey.

The Chief Minister also added that those people with mild symptoms will be in room isolation for 21 days and the health workers will monitor their condition.

On Thursday, Health minister Veena George had said that 274 people were identified as being in the primary contact list of the victim and they were being observed.

 
This is worth keeping an eye on, for sure. However, similar to viruses such as Ebola, the potential for Nipah virus to cause a pandemic is very low.
 
This is worth keeping an eye on, for sure. However, similar to viruses such as Ebola, the potential for Nipah virus to cause a pandemic is very low.
Also with all the global covid restrictions and checks a lot of other viruses are also suppressed.

Been reading studies on how the covid restrictions and basic checks are also preventing a lot of other viruses from spreading.
 
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Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, who helped develop the revolutionary Oxford AstraZeneca jab, warned how unprepared the world is should Nipah mutate a highly transmissible form
“We need stockpiles of vaccines against these pathogens we already know about because how’s it going to look if suddenly there’s a big Nipah outbreak that starts to spread around the world?
“We’ve known about that for years and we started making a vaccine five years ago, but we haven’t done it yet, it’s not finished.”


 
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