Nipah Virus Outbreak: Watch Out For These 3 Risk Factors

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