Man Examined for Nipah in Kerala

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is investigating a sample from a man in Kerala who is suspected to be carrying the Nipah virus. Kerala was one of the affected states by the Nipah virus last year.

Nipah Virus

• Nipah virus infection causes a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection (subclinical) to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.
• Nipah virus infection is an emerging zoonotic disease with a high case fatality rate estimated to range between 40 and 75 per cent.
• Nipah Virus was first recognised in 1998-99 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore.
• The virus can be transmitted to humans from animals (such as bats or pigs) and Fruit bats are the natural host of the virus.
• The virus cannot be transmitted through the air and it is transmitted through direct contact with infected bats, pigs etc.
• Human to Human Transmission of the Virus is also reported.

There is no vaccine for disease either for humans or animals. The main treatment for those infected is intensive supportive care and supportive medicines.

National Centre for Disease Control

National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) works under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Institute acts as a centre for providing multidisciplinary and integrated expertise in the control of the communicable disease. It is entrusted the task of developing reliable rapid economic epidemiological tools which could be effectively applied in the field for the control of communicable diseases.