The race to contain deadly Nipah virus

A bat-borne, brain-swelling disease with 'pandemic potential' has put the world on high alert. Health Editor HANNA GEISSLER explains all you need to know about the zoonotic outbreak

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NEWS of an outbreak of a deadly disease with “pandemic potential” will no doubt trigger flashbacks to the dark days of Covid when we were told to stay home and sing Happy Birthday twice while washing our hands. This time, it’s the bat-borne Nipah virus, a zoonotic infection — one that can jump from animals to humans with a death rate of between 40% and 75%, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Officials in India have been racing to contain the virus after two healthcare workers at a hospital in the eastern state of West Bengal fell ill in late December. One remains in a coma, while the other who experienced “severe neurological illness” has “since improved”, according to the World Health Organisation.

Around 200 people who came into contact with the victims have been traced and tested, hospitals have stepped up infection protocols, and some nearby countries have tightened border controls and implemented health screening at major airports.

The WHO has described Nipah as one of its top 10 priority diseases because of its potential to spark an epidemic or pandemic. The UKHSA designated it as a high priority pathogen last March, meaning that new tests, treatments and vaccines are urgently needed. So, how worried should we be? We asked two experts in medicine and virology to tell us everything we need to know about Nipah.

WHAT IS NIPAH VIRUS?

Nipah virus can be transmitted from animals, including bats and pigs, to humans. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are the natural host and carry the virus without falling ill, then spread it through saliva, urine and faeces.

The pathogen was first discovered in 1999, a few months after a mysterious and deadly outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. Health officials originally thought pig farmers falling ill with brain inflammation were suffering from Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease. But when the deaths continued, scientists isolated the new virus.