Context: Kozhikode in Kerala is seeing re-emergence of Nipah virus, with some casualties associated with the virus.
About Nipah Virus

• Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus or bat-borne virus that causes virus infection in humans and other animals.
• It can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
• It causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis in humans.
• The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.

Transmission

• Consumption of fruits contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats.
• Human-to-human transmission among family and care givers of infected patients.
• Spreads directly from human-to-human through close contact with people's secretions and excretions.

Symptoms

• Human infections range from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.
• Symptoms include fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat.
• The incubation believed to range from 4 to 14 days.
• The case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%.

Treatment

• There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for the infection.
• Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications.

Prevention

• Cleaning and disinfection of pig farms with appropriate detergents.
• Reducing the risk of bat-to-human transmission.
• Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission.
• Health-care workers with confirmed infection, should implement standard infection control precautions.