According to the new protocol, potential Nipah cases include death, severe acute respiratory infection, acute encephalitis, coma, and contact with a patient with Nipah virus.
What you should know
As fears grow over the Nipah virus outbreak in West Bengal, India, Nepal has also been instructed to conduct tests on suspected cases.
The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health has issued such instructions to the relevant agencies.
According to the new protocol, potential Nipah cases include death, severe acute respiratory infection, acute encephalitis, coma, contact with a patient infected with Nipah virus. People who have returned from Nipah-affected areas, drinking raw date juice, and coming into contact with infected animals (especially bats) have been kept under suspicion.
‘Dozens of people with influenza-like symptoms, especially those returning from West Bengal in India, are contacting us for testing,’ an official of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said on condition of anonymity, ‘But there is no need to panic. Because the Indian Health Authority and the World Health Organization have informed that the outbreak has been successfully controlled, and despite the border with West Bengal, the risk of infection spreading in Nepal is not high.’
Nipah is transmitted from animals to humans. It is a zoonotic virus. However, this virus is much more deadly than the coronavirus that caused a global pandemic in 2019. In India, two cases of Nipah virus infection have been confirmed in West Bengal this month. Both are infected health workers. They showed symptoms in the last week of December last year.
How is the infection transmitted?
Usually, the infection occurs through direct contact with an infected animal or eating its meat. Similarly, Cases of human-to-human transmission have been reported in many places, including India.
According to public health experts, there is a risk of an outbreak here as bats, the main carrier of the Nipah virus, are also found in Nepal. On the other hand, the border of West Bengal and Nepal's Koshi region is connected, and hundreds of people cross this border daily.
Health authorities have instructed suspected Nipah patients to be admitted and treated in hospitals designated as corona treatment centers in the past. Similarly, they have been urged not to come into contact with other people. 'We are also preparing treatment guidelines,' officials said.
Recently, the Disease Control Division had issued instructions to hospitals across the country to provide reports on patients with Nipah-like symptoms and suspected cases of sudden death.
Recently, health desks at border checkpoints and Tribhuvan International Airport have been alerted about the possibility of Nipah cases. Similarly, health workers have been asked to be vigilant.
According to the World Health Organization, symptoms usually appear within 3 to 14 days in people infected with the Nipah virus.
Fever, headache, cough, sore throat, and difficulty breathing are its main symptoms. Some people may develop brain swelling or encephalitis. Serious symptoms such as confusion, drowsiness, and fainting may also occur. Some patients may even go into coma within 24 to 48 hours.
According to the World Health Organization, the mortality rate of this disease is 40 to 70 percent. Nipah virus was first detected in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 300 people were confirmed to have the disease and more than 100 died.
The deadliest outbreak of Nipah virus occurred in West Bengal, India, in 2001, in which 66 people were infected and 45 died. The virus reappeared in 2007. This time, all five of the infected people died.
In 2018, the virus killed 17 people in Kerala, India.
Experts say the virus should be taken seriously, as the fatality rate is as high as 70 percent.
Some of the symptoms of Nipah virus are similar to other common viruses. That is why doctors say people are at risk of being confused. There is no cure for the virus yet. Health workers diagnose the symptoms and treat them accordingly.
