- Tripura Health Department has issued a Nipah Virus alert after the death of five persons in a few villages of Bangladesh close to the Indo-Bangla international border.It has asked the district chief medical officers to stay sensitized and alert on any impending Nipah virus outbreak in the state.
- According to World Health Organization(WHO),the Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis,that is,a disease transmitted from animals to humans.The virus belongs to a new genus termed Henipavirus (subfamily Paramyxovirinae).
- The natural host of the virus are fruit bats belonging to the family Pteropodidae.In 2004,humans were affected after eating the date palm contaminated by infected fruit bats.Pigs can also act as intermediate hosts.The virus was first identified in 1998 at Kampung Sungai Nipah village,Malaysia.The virus is named after this village.
- The symptoms of Nipah virus are (a)fever (b)muscle pain (c)respiratory problems and (d)Inflammation of the brain.Late onset of Encephalitis can also occur.Sometimes a person can also have an asymptomatic infection that can be a carrier of Nipah and not show any symptoms.
