Bangladesh: Nipah virus has killed more than 80 percent of those infected in 2013 outbreak
While there is much attention over the outbreaks in China (H7N9 avian influenza) and the Middle East with the new coronavirus, Bangladesh has been in a battle with a viral disease outbreak that is killing a whopping 87.5% of those infected this year.
The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) in Dhaka has announced in their most recent update that 24 cases of Nipah virus infection have been reported in Bangladesh since the beginning of 2013, of which 21 cases have died.
The demographics of the outbreak reveal the cases are from 13 different districts (Gaibandha, Jhinaidaha, Kurigram, Kushtia, Magura, Manikgonj, Mymenshingh, Naogaon, Natore, Nilphamari, Pabna, Rajbari, Rajshahi). The age distribution of cases is from 8 months to 60 years. Sixteen cases are male and eight are females.
What is this virus that is killing eight out 10 people infected in Bangladesh?
Nipah virus is an emerging zoonotic infection which causes encephalitis and respiratory illness in people. It is also a serious pathogen for pigs and a wide range of animals which has resulted in serious economic loss.
Human infections can occur from direct contact with sick pigs or contaminated tissues.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in the Bangladesh and India outbreaks, consumption of fruits or fruit products (e.g. raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats was the most likely source of infection. Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae – particularly species belonging to the Pteropus genus – are the natural hosts for Nipah virus. There is no apparent disease in fruit bats.
In more recent outbreaks of the disease, person-to-person transmission has been seen in Bangladesh and India.
The disease in humans can range from asymptomatic infection to fatal encephalitis. Encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours.
The case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%; however, this rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for surveillance investigations, according to the WHO.
Those who survive acute encephalitis make a full recovery, but around 20% are left with residual neurological consequences such as persistent convulsions and personality changes.
There is no treatment or vaccine available for either people or animals.
Nipah virus was first detected in Malaysia in 1998 but at present Bangladesh, a hotspot for infectious diseases, is the only country in the world that reports the disease.
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[…] The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) in Dhaka has announced in their most recent update dated May 15, 2013. that 24 cases of Nipah virus infection have been reported in Bangladesh since the beginning of 2013, of which 21 cases have died. Up to that point, the country was dealing with a case-fatality rate of nearly 88 percent. […]
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