Nipah is dangerous, but there’s nothing to panic
Friday - June 1, 2018 9:55 am ,
Category : WTN SPECIAL
.jpg)
June 01 (WTN) - Though the spread and intensity of Nipah is making much news these days, Nipah virus is not something completely new to India. It has had its outbreaks in the past too, but due to their localised nature and lack of adequate media coverage, these outbreaks died down soon, without giving much reason to worry.
They too killed people and spawned panic in the regions they spread but their virulence was modest and their duration limited, which led to minimised impact.
All the past outbreaks showed the same trend — localised and limited in their effect. This time too the virus is not spreading like wildfire. More or less it can be called a localised outbreak with only three districts of Kerala being affected.
In its initial spree it did kill 10 people, but then on, once word spread and people exercised caution, the infection seems to have abated and proving less fatal. The government has declared that there is no emergency like situation and there was no reason to panic.
The rest of India hasn’t seen any Nipah outbreak and therefore other regions apart from the Kerala districts can be considered safe and free from the virus.
As far as its genesis and spread is concerned, it is now well known that pigs and fruit bats are the carriers and the virus first surfaced in Malaysia a few years back as pig farmers started getting brain fever.
The fruits infected by infected bats when eaten by humans lead to the possibility of Nipah spread.
Several dead bats were found in the well of the Kerala family where the virus first struck, following which it was sealed by the government. Apart, those working with pigs or consuming pigs are also at risk.
The greatest danger, however, is human to human spread and to contain that is the greatest challenge because it is very difficult to stop human to human contact in this age of rapid communication.
This especially becomes difficult because the symptoms of Nipah are quite similar to simple cough and cold and other viral fevers which make it difficult for instant recognition.
The contamination and contagiousness is rapid and in 72 hours the patient in most cases succumbs or slips into coma. There is a 70 percent death rate vis-à-vis the number of infected.
The best way to prevent and contain the viral spread is to quarantine the patient immediately if symptoms indicate a Nipah infection. The symptoms include headache, nausea, breathlessness, muscle pain, neck rigidity and vomiting in some cases or even photophobia is some extreme cases.
The doctor must be consulted immediately if some of these symptoms appear in a person. Unfortunately, there is still no vaccine or approved treatment available except intensive care and supportive medication to maintain immunity and fluid levels.
Thus once afflicted, it is very difficult to get out of it. The precautionary measures include regular hand washing and keeping personal hygiene, avoiding raw fruit/vegetable consumption except after proper washing and processing/cooking, keeping away from pig farmers and pig consumption, avoiding crowded places like malls or public functions etc and using a handkerchief while sneezing or coughing.
- Windows To News
They too killed people and spawned panic in the regions they spread but their virulence was modest and their duration limited, which led to minimised impact.
All the past outbreaks showed the same trend — localised and limited in their effect. This time too the virus is not spreading like wildfire. More or less it can be called a localised outbreak with only three districts of Kerala being affected.
In its initial spree it did kill 10 people, but then on, once word spread and people exercised caution, the infection seems to have abated and proving less fatal. The government has declared that there is no emergency like situation and there was no reason to panic.
The rest of India hasn’t seen any Nipah outbreak and therefore other regions apart from the Kerala districts can be considered safe and free from the virus.
As far as its genesis and spread is concerned, it is now well known that pigs and fruit bats are the carriers and the virus first surfaced in Malaysia a few years back as pig farmers started getting brain fever.
The fruits infected by infected bats when eaten by humans lead to the possibility of Nipah spread.
Several dead bats were found in the well of the Kerala family where the virus first struck, following which it was sealed by the government. Apart, those working with pigs or consuming pigs are also at risk.
The greatest danger, however, is human to human spread and to contain that is the greatest challenge because it is very difficult to stop human to human contact in this age of rapid communication.
This especially becomes difficult because the symptoms of Nipah are quite similar to simple cough and cold and other viral fevers which make it difficult for instant recognition.
The contamination and contagiousness is rapid and in 72 hours the patient in most cases succumbs or slips into coma. There is a 70 percent death rate vis-à-vis the number of infected.
The best way to prevent and contain the viral spread is to quarantine the patient immediately if symptoms indicate a Nipah infection. The symptoms include headache, nausea, breathlessness, muscle pain, neck rigidity and vomiting in some cases or even photophobia is some extreme cases.
The doctor must be consulted immediately if some of these symptoms appear in a person. Unfortunately, there is still no vaccine or approved treatment available except intensive care and supportive medication to maintain immunity and fluid levels.
Thus once afflicted, it is very difficult to get out of it. The precautionary measures include regular hand washing and keeping personal hygiene, avoiding raw fruit/vegetable consumption except after proper washing and processing/cooking, keeping away from pig farmers and pig consumption, avoiding crowded places like malls or public functions etc and using a handkerchief while sneezing or coughing.
- Windows To News
