WHO provides promising update on India’s deadly Nipah virus outbreak
WHO issues update on transmission of deadly Nipah virus outbreak in India
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has assessed a low risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading from India, following two confirmed cases in West Bengal.
- The agency stated there is no evidence of increased human-to-human transmission and advised against imposing travel or trade restrictions.
- The two infected individuals are health workers, and the source of their infection is still under investigation.
- Nipah is a zoonotic virus carried by fruit bats, with a high fatality rate of 40-75 per cent, and currently has no licensed vaccine or specific treatment.
- Despite being classified as a priority pathogen, virologists maintain that the risk to the general population remains low due to the difficulty of sustained human-to-human transmission.
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