WHO alert on new risk of pandemic in India

The World Health Organisation is closely monitoring the Nipah virus as a possible pandemic: one young woman has already died in India.

The main source of the virus is bats feeding on fruit and livestock. The virus has caused several epidemics in South Asia and is considered a threat to public health due to the potential for epidemics and the lack of treatment.

The pathogen causes a wide range of clinical signs, from asymptomatic infection to severe respiratory infection. In the worst cases, it can lead to fatal encephalitis, which was the cause of the death of the 18-year-old girl in India. According to the WHO, the lethality of the Nipah virus varies from 40% to 75% of cases, and it has warned of its alarming epidemic potential.

The numerous outbreaks in South Asia add to the large number of animals likely to be infected by the Nipah virus, which has been identified as a major public threat.

(MH with AmBar - Source : Hindustan Times - Photo : © Unsplash)