Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

[Gert van der Hoek]

Nipah virus stalking prey

Pranesh Sarkar

KOLKATA, May 3: According to preliminary observations of state health department officials about the mysterious disease that claimed five lives in Nadia, a new, deadly virus poses a stiff challenge.

Experts, after visiting the areas affected in the district, said the symptoms are similar to ailments caused by nipah, which is a newly recognised zoonotic virus. It is generally found in Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Dr Sanchita Baksi, the state’s director of health services, said: “Though the symptoms are of nipah, we are yet to confirm the virus. It will become clear after we get the viscera report of a victim from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

The nipah virus created a spot of bother in Siliguri a few years ago.” Various viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis have caught the department unawares.

According to experts, the virus was “discovered” in 1999. It has diseased animals and human beings and is infectious. The virus is named after the location where it was first detected in Malaysia.

Though the virus has only caused a few focal outbreaks, the virus’s biological property can infect a wide range of hosts and produce a disease causing significant mortality in humans. This emerging viral infection has become a public heath concern. It is believed that certain species of fruit bats are the natural hosts of the nipah virus.

The mode of transmission from animal to animal, and from animal to human is uncertain, but appears to require close contact with contaminated tissue or body fluids from infected animals. It is unlikely that the virus is easily transmitted to man, though previous outbreak reports suggest that nipah is transmitted from animals to humans.

The virus’s incubation period is between four and 18 days. The onset usually has “influenza-like” symptoms with high fever and muscular pain. The disease may progress to inflamation of the brain (encephalitis) with drowsiness, disorientation, convulsions and coma.

Fifty per cent of clinically apparent cases die. No drug has proved effective in treating the nipah infection.

SNS adds: Specialist doctors of the Delhi’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases visiting the district was still at sea today about the mystery disease.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=22&id=182786&usrsess=1

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

Rare Nipah virus outbreak kills 5 in eastern India

The Associated Press

Published: May 8, 2007


CALCUTTA, India: The rare, animal-borne Nipah virus has killed five people in an eastern Indian state, prompting authorities to declare a state of alert, officials said Tuesday.

A health official and four members of a family have died from the illness since early April, said Mohan Basu, a doctor in West Bengal state's Nadia district.

The Nipah virus is usually spread by fruit bats or pigs. There have been no known cases of human-to-human infection, according to the World Health Organization.

The last major Nipah outbreak occurred in Malaysia, where 265 people were infected in 1998-99. The virus was then blamed for 105 human deaths.

Nearly a million pigs, believed to have spread the disease, were slaughtered before the Malaysian outbreak was controlled.

The virus, which causes encephalitis, is lethal in about 50 percent of infected humans. No drugs have proven effective against it.

Nadia is 120 kilometers (75 miles) from West Bengal's capital of Calcutta and borders Bangladesh, which had a Nipah outbreak in 2004.

"Initially we thought that the cases were of dengue (a mosquito-borne viral disease), but a test later confirmed that it was Nipah virus that caused the deaths," Basu said.

The outbreak was confirmed by the region's senior health official, Nipati Roy. The virus was found in samples that were sent to the National Institute of Virology.

"We are sending streams of blood samples taken from bats and pigs and even household pets," Basu said. "We are keeping a close surveillance."

Basu said he suspected that the virus had been spread by fruit bats in Nadia, and that residents have been warned to avoid the flying mammals.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/08/asia/AS-MED-India-Nipah-Virus.php

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

Bat virus sparks scramble


May 8: A day after the presence of the bat virus was confirmed in the blood samples of three people killed of a ?mystery fever? in Nadia, the health department set up a control room and asked the district administration to send daily reports on the situation there.

?If any new case of fever is reported, the district control room should refer it to Calcu- tta immediately,? director of health services Sanchita Bakshi said.

Health officials treating those suspected to be infected by the Nipah virus have been asked to take special protection. ?They should wear protective dress. Special masks, gowns, caps and gloves are being provided,? Bakshi said.

The district health authorities have also launched a drive to pinpoint the carrier of the virus at Betai village in Tehatta, about 150 km from Calcutta. The blood and urine samples of bats and pigs would be sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal for tests.

?Bats would be caught and their blood samples collected,? said an official of the animal resources development department.

The infection, which is believed to have afflicted at least 30 people in Nadia, was initially suspected to be a new strain of dengue. But blood samples of three of the five who have died of the fever since February tested positive for Nipah at the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

The two others had died of encephalitis.

First detected in 1999, the Nipah virus spreads rapidly and has a high mortality rate.

According to virologists, fruit bats are its natural hosts, which can infect pigs, and both can infect humans.

Transmission of the virus requires close contact with infected tissues or body fluids. No medicine has been found to work against Nipah.

?Doctors in our district were not aware of Nipah and its effects. We are now passing on government guidelines to the block hospitals,? said Mohan Basu, the deputy chief medical officer of health, Nadia.

The guidelines say Nipah can cause epidemics and stress the need to prevent human contact with the carriers.

?We are raising awareness among villagers. People have been asked not to come in close contact with the patients and to report cases of fever immediately,? Bose said.

Joydeb Biswas of Betai, whose 30-year-old wife Purnima has been running a temperature over the past fortnight, has not taken her to a hospital, though. He has arranged a saline drip at his home.

?A team from Calcutta had collected her blood several days ago. I don?t know the result yet,? he said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070509/asp/bengal/story_7753445.asp

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleheader>Drug for bat virus combat " a drug previously used to fight SARS."
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleauthor>RABI BANERJEE</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left>

Krishnagar, May 9: An anti-viral drug ? Ribavarin ? which was widely used in Malaysia when Nipah struck there in 1999 is being used in Nadia to treat the suspected cases.
Health officials here said Ribavarin, a tablet of which costs around Rs 75, will be given to the 30 patients down with fever at Betai village and in Krishnagar.
Their blood samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for confirmatory tests.
Of the 30 patients, 20 are from Betai, close to the Bangladesh border, about 150 km from Calcutta.
Nadia chief medical officer Mrinal Kanti Biswas said the decision to procure Ribavarin was taken following advice from experts at the Pune institute.
?We are buying the drug from Hyderabad and will distribute it free to those who show symptoms of the affliction or run temperature for days,? said Biswas.
A three-member medical board has been set up to monitor fever cases being reported to hospitals and health centres in the district. Suspected patients will be kept under observation in isolation wards.
Besides a district hospital in Krishnagar, Nadia has four subdivisional hospitals and seven block hospitals.
Nipah has no cure, but Ribavarin would alleviate the symptoms of nausea, vomiting and convulsion, said doctors.
The virus, which has claimed three lives in the district and afflicted many, could have come from Bangladesh.
Tapas Majumder, the first victim from Betai, had been to the neighbouring country on a business trip in February.
?He was running a temperature within days of his return,? district magistrate .S. Meena said.
The virus, first detected in Malaysia in 1999, has since been known to strike only two other places, Bangladesh and Bengal.
It killed 105 of the 265 patients in Malaysia, 18 of 30 in Bangladesh in April 2004, and three-fourths of the 66 it infected in Siliguri in 2001.
?The drug, Ribavarin, was also used on SARS patients in China,? said a doctor who is part of the three-member board.
?The drug is primarily used because it reduces nausea, vomiting and convulsion and brings back appetite. These symptoms are common in Nipah patients.?:tiphat: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070510/asp/bengal/story_7757746.asp​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story vAlign=top align=right></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SCRIPT language=javascript> <!-- var agent = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase(); if(agent.indexOf("msie") != -1) { document.writeln("</div>"); } //--> </SCRIPT>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

Nipah alert on Bangla frontier
Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, May 11: The Centre has issued guidelines to the state health department in a bid to stop spread of the Nipah virus after it claimed five lives in Nadia recently.
The state has been asked to maintain a strong surveillance in all the vulnerable districts and to keep ready an isolation ward in all the important hospitals of these areas.
This apart, awareness-generating programmes have to be initiated so that locals come to the government hospital for any suspected case. Protective gear like gloves, masks and gowns have to be arranged for the nursing staff and doctors who would deal with such cases.
Acting on the guidelines, the state health department has started taking initiatives. Dr SN Dutta, joint director (public health), state health department, said: ?We have sent the guidelines to all the nine Bangladesh-bordering districts. We have sent protective gear, too. The district authorities were asked arrange for an isolation ward in each district to accommodate suspected cases, if any. Strong surveillance was also advised.?
The state health department has also taken initiatives to keep a ready supply of medicines for providing treatment upon emergency. ?We came to know that one drug was discovered recently in Malaysia which was reported to be effective in providing treatment to such cases,? Dr Dutta said.
State health department officials said that though no new case has been reported, they are keeping a strict surveillance in all the Bangladesh border districts as the incubation period of the virus is not over yet.
The incubation period is between 4 and 18 days. In many cases the infection is mild or inapparent (sub-clinical). In symptomatic cases, the onset is usually with "influenza-like" symptoms, with high fever and muscle pains (myalgia). The disease may progress to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) with drowsiness, disorientation, convulsions and coma. Fifty percent of clinically apparent cases die.:tiphat: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=156069

 

[Dark Horse]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

Anything But Bird Flu, despite all the dead birds. India is at it again this year.

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

Anything But Bird Flu, despite all the dead birds. India is at it again this year.

The virus is known in Bengal

The virus, first detected in Malaysia in 1999, has since been known to strike only two other places, Bangladesh and Bengal.

"The nipah virus created a spot of bother in Siliguri a few years ago.”

bat virus was confirmed in the blood samples of three people killed

“The drug, Ribavarin, was also used on SARS patients in China,” said a doctor who is part of the three-member board.

“The drug is primarily used because it reduces nausea, vomiting and convulsion and brings back appetite. These symptoms are common in Nipah patients.”

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

more info...<snip>The virus, 1st detected in Malaysia in 1999, has since been known to strike
only 2 other places, Bangladesh and Bengal. It killed 105 of the 265
patients in Malaysia, 18 of 30 in Bangladesh in April 2004, and [75 per
cent] of the 66 it infected in Siliguri in 2001.

(byline: Rabi Banerjee)

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Joseph P Dudley, PhD

[Ribavirin (Virazole) is a nucleoside analog considered to have broad
spectrum antiviral activity against several DNA- and RNA-containing
viruses. It is relatively toxic and accordingly its use has been
restricted. Notably it has been used in life-threatening respiratory
syncytial virus infection in infancy, against certain exotic viruses such
as Lassa fever virus and more recently Nipah virus, and in combination with
pegylated interferon against certain genotypes of hepatitis C virus.

Although first synthesized in 1972 its node of antiviral activity is
unclear. Among other effects, ribavirin monophosphate is a competitive
inhibitor of cellular monophosphate dehydrogenase which results in
reduction of GTP (guanosine triphosphate) pools in treated cells. The use
of ribavirin for treatment of the symptoms of suspected Nipah virus
infection in patients in West Bengal with undefined fevers seems a rather
extreme responds at this juncture. - Mod.CP]:tiphat:

http://tinyurl.com/2vlzlv

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Nipah virus confirmed in Bengal, India

Nipah virus? entry point not clear

Statesman News Service

KOLKATA, May 21: The state health department is in a spot after the state government sought a report on how the Nipah virus travelled to Nadia. The health department is groping in the dark.

According to state health department officials, the chief secretary, Mr Amit Kiran Deb, sought a report after the Malaysia-origin virus claimed five lives in the district recently.

?Mr Deb asked for a report about the nature of the virus, how it entered the state and the steps taken to prevent the spread of the virus.

We have submitted the report, detailing the nature of the virus and the preventive steps taken but we failed to detect how the virus entered the state,? a health official said.

?Though we could not trace the route through which the virus entered Nadia, we found out how the virus was transmitted to four people from Tapas Majumdar, the first victim of the disease.

The first three victims were from the same family and the other two had contact with the victims,? the official said.

With these findings, the transmission of the virus from human to human has been established. Health officials have collected blood samples from piggeries of the virus-hit area.

These samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune to confirm if pigs were the transmitters. But the reports are likely to be negative.

?The Nipah virus was found in Bangladesh early this year but we are not sure how it entered the state,? Dr SN Dutta, joint director (Public Health), state health department, said.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=156949