Everything about the Nipah Virus
Kerala has been on high alert due to mysterious deaths of eight people because of an unidentified viral attack. Out of these, three were reported to be caused by Nipah Virus (NiV). As per the National Institute of Virology, Pune, NiV is the sole cause of these three deaths. An unheard virus, NiV is yet to be understood by many. Here is what the virus is all about. What is NiV? As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah Virus is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes a severe disease in both animals and humans. This virus was first identified in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998. At that time, it was primarily caused in pigs and through them got transferred to humans. Nipah Virus infected as many as 265 people then, out of which 40% were taken under intensive care due to the infection having spread severely. As quoted by the WHO, the natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus. The virus can be transferred through infected bats, pigs or