Authorities in India are scrambling to contain a rare outbreak of Nipah, a virus spread from animals to humans that causes deadly fever with a high mortality rate.
The first Nipah outbreak was recorded in 1998 after the virus spread among pig farmers in Malaysia.Outbreaks are rare but Nipah has been listed by the World Health Organization -- alongside Ebola, Zika and Covid-19 -- as one of several diseases deserving of priority research for their potential to cause a global epidemic.
Symptoms include intense fever, vomiting and a respiratory infection, but severe cases can involve seizures and brain inflammation that results in a coma.Patients have a mortality rate of between 40 and 75 percent depending on the public health response to the virus, the WHO says.The first Nipah outbreak killed more than 100 people in Malaysia and prompted the culling of one million pigs in an effort to contain the virus.
The southern state of Kerala has recorded two deaths from Nipah and four other confirmed cases since last month.This marks Kerala's fourth recorded spate of Nipah cases in five years. The virus killed 17 people during the first instance in 2018.
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