SINGAPORE, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Authorities across Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia have taken urgent steps to stop the highly lethal and epidemic‑prone Nipah virus spreading beyond India, rolling out airport temperature checks and other screening measures.
Nipah is classified as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization because of its ability to spark fast‑moving outbreaks, its fatality rate of 40% to 75%, and the fact that there is no approved vaccine or cure.
Two infections were confirmed in India in late December.
The virus, carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can trigger a deadly brain-swelling fever in humans and can also spread directly from person to person through close contact. Several vaccines are in development but remain in testing.
INDIAN HEALTH WORKERS INFECTED
The two people infected in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal in late December were health workers and both are under treatment at a local hospital, a district health officer told News agency
Authorities have identified and traced 196 contacts linked to the two cases with none showing symptoms and all testing negative for the virus, the Indian health ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“Speculative and incorrect figures regarding Nipah virus disease cases are being circulated,” the statement said. “Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken … which ensured timely containment of the cases.”