Why in the news?
- A 12-year-old boy infected with the Nipah virus died in a private hospital in Kozhikode on September 5, 2021. The boy showed symptoms of encephalitis and myocarditis – inflammation of the brain and heart muscles respectively.
What is Nipah virus?
- Nipah is a zoonotic virus, which means it is transmitted from animals to human beings. The transmission happens mainly through consumption of contaminated food.
- Human-to-human transmission is also considered possible.
Which is the host of Nipah virus?
- The animal host reservoir for this virus is known to be the fruit bat, commonly known as flying fox. Fruit bats are known to transmit this virus to other animals like pigs, and also dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.
Where the first outbreak happened?
- The first outbreaks of the Nipah virus among humans was reported from Malaysia (1998) and Singapore (1999).
- The virus takes its name from the village in Malaysia where the person in whom the virus was first isolated died of the disease.
How human are infected?
- Humans get infected mainly through direct contact with these animals, or through consumption of food contaminated by saliva or urine of these infected animals.
(Source: IE)
