KERALA   –  Health authorities in India’s Kerala state have issued an alert after a 14-year-old boy died of the Nipah virus.

According to the state’s health minister, an additional 60 people have been identified as being in the high-risk category of having the disease. Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the boy was from the town of Pandikkad and that those who came into contact with him have been isolated and tested. People in the area have been asked to take precautions such as wearing masks in public areas and refraining from visiting people in hospital.

The Nipah virus infection is a “zoonotic illness” transmitted from animals like pigs and fruit bats to humans, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has described the virus as a priority pathogen because of its potential to trigger an epidemic. Initial symptoms may include: Fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, sore throat.

In some people, this can be followed by: Dizziness and/or drowsiness and/or altered consciousness, and/or altered acute encephalitis, and/or atypical pneumonia, and/or other severe respiratory problems. People who contract the virus sometimes show no noticeable symptoms, while others show signs of acute respiratory problems. In severe cases, a Nipah infection can result in foetal encephalitis – a serious condition that affects the brain.

The mortality rate among those who contract the virus is high as there is no medicine or vaccine available to treat the infection. Treatment is limited to managing symptoms and supportive care. It can be transmitted through contaminated food and through contact with an infected person. Experts say that due to habitat loss, animals are living in closer proximity to humans and this helps the virus jump from animals to humans.

The Kerala state government recently announced that it was creating an action plan to prevent a Nipah outbreak. Last year, authorities in the state closed schools and offices after confirming five cases. According to the WHO, the first two outbreaks in 2001 and 2007 were both reported in the eastern state of West Bengal. In 2018, 17 people were killed in an outbreak in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in the southern state of Kerala.

The virus has been linked to dozens of deaths in Kerala state since it was first reported there in 2018. The 14-year-old died last Sunday, just a day after he was confirmed to have the virus, according to Indian media reports. Parts of Kerala are said to be the most at-risk globally for the virus. An investigation published by Reuters last year found that Kerala, which is a tropical state and is witnessing rapid urbanisation and rapid tree loss, created “ideal conditions for a virus like Nipah to emerge”. Fruit bats, also called “megabats”, are a grouping that contain some of the largest bats in the world. These mammals, usually found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, are natural hosts for the Nipah virus. (BBC)…[+]