Indian health authorities are tackling a Nipah virus outbreak after five cases of the incurable disease were detected.
The infections from the bat-borne pathogen were reported in the eastern state of West Bengal near the state capital Kolkata, India’s third-most populous city.
Now the authorities have tested 180 people and quarantined 20 high-risk contacts. Nipah virus spreads between animals and people, such as from infected bats or pigs, and it can also be transmitted between people.
Fruit bats, which are common in India across cities and countryside, are the natural hosts of the virus.
In humans, the virus can show as an asymptomatic infection and acute respiratory issues. Symptoms include fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting and sore throat, and severe cases of brain inflammation can lead to a coma within 24 to 48 hours.
It has a fatality rate of between 40% to 75%, and there is no treatment or vaccine against Nipah.
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