Nipah Outbreak
The Keralan district of Kozhikode has experienced the brain-damaging Nipah virus for the third time in five years, prompting the state health department to issue a health alert after receiving reports of two “unnatural” deaths and four high-risk contact cases, including one involving a 9-year-old who is on ventilator support. Health professionals advise caution because test results for further samples are pending even though the patients are receiving medical care, and a 9-year-old kid has now been taken off ventilator support and shown a substantial improvement.
Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, which means it may spread from animals to people, according to Dr. Harish Chafle, Consultant Intensivist and Chest Physician at Global Hospitals in Parel, Mumbai. He claims that a Nipah virus infection can cause a variety of symptoms, such as:
1. Fever
2. Headache
3. Fatigue
4. Muscle pain
5. Respiratory Distress
6. Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)
Dr. Harish Chafle issued a warning about the main risk factors and causes, which include: Dr. Harish Chafle emphasized that in severe cases, Nipah virus infection can progress to a coma within 24–48 hours and can be lethal.
1. Animal Reservoirs
2. Consumption of Contaminated Food
3. Human-to-human transmission
