i)What is Nipah virus? How is it transmitted? What are the signs and symptoms of the disease? What is the Treatment and Preventive measures of this disease?
Answers
Answer:Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis.
1. Causative organism
Nipah virus (NiV) is a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus.
2. Means of spread/ mode of transmission
People can get Nipah virus from contact with the excrement or droppings of infected fruit bats, pigs, or from other people infected with Nipah virus. People can also get infected with Nipah virus when they consume raw date palm sap (a drink found in parts of Asia) that is contaminated with bat droppings.
3. Portal of entry
Nipah virus entry into the CNS via the olfactory route.
Nipah virus infection is initiated in the respiratory and olfactory epithelium in the nasal turbinates following intranasal inoculation
4. Organs/ Main organ affected
The Nipah virus causes fever and upper respiratory distress in humans that quickly escalates to encephalitis or inflammation in the brain. In a few cases, infected people have also shown symptoms of myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart.
5. Disease and symptoms
Symptoms from infection vary from none to fever, cough, headache, shortness of breath, and confusion` This may worsen into a coma over a day or two, and 50% to 75% of those infected die. Complications can include inflammation of the brain and seizures following recovery.
6. Distribution of disease (map to be attached)
Nipah Virus Distribution Map | Nipah Virus (NiV)
7. Treatment/ vaccine/ prevention
While there is no vaccine available for the infection, preventive measures can be a key to control the spread. With fruits bats being the primary cause of infection, the farm animals should be prevented from eating fruit contaminated by bats. Consumption of contaminated date palm sap including toddy should also be avoided. Physical barriers can be put in place in order to prevent bats from accessing and contaminating palm sap.
Medical officials who are looking after the patients with suspected or confirmed NiV should take basic precautions like washing hands, using a gown, cap mask and wearing gloves.
In case of animals, wire screens can help prevent contact with bats when pigs are raised in open-sided pig sheds. Run-off from the roof should be prevented from entering pig pens. practice. Early recognition of infected pigs can help protect other animals and humans. Due to the highly contagious nature of the virus in swine populations, mass culling of seropositive animals may be necessary.