Guwahati, September 6 (NKTV): A 12-year-old boy from Kerala, infected with the Nipah virus, yesterday died in a private hospital in Kozhikode. This incident has led to a scare among the public in the state.
It may be mentioned here that the Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that causes severe disease in both humans and animals. The first outbreaks of the Nipah virus among humans was reported from Malaysia in 1998.
In India, West Bengal had seen an outbreak in 2001 and 2007 while Kerala reported several cases in 2018.
It may be mentioned here that the infection is spread mainly through consumption of contaminated food. However, human to human transmission is also considered possible. The animal host reservoir for this virus is known to be the fruit bat, commonly known as flying fox. Fruit bats are known to transmit this virus to other animals like pigs, and also dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.
Although the Nipah virus spreads way more slowly than the Coronavirus, the concern that arises is its ability to kill. It has a mortality rate of around 70 per cent, which is way higher than Covid.