Recently, there was an outbreak of Nipa virus in West Bengal, India. According to Thailand's Bangkok Post on the 24th, Phuket International Airport has strengthened the health monitoring of tourists from India due to the large number of Indian tourists entering the country for sightseeing. The person in charge of the airport said that he was seeking guidance from the Thai disease control department to determine whether to implement additional epidemic prevention measures at the national immigration inspection office.
In addition, due to the outbreak of the epidemic in India, West Bengal borders eastern Nepal, the Ministry of Health of Nepal ordered on the 23rd to strengthen quarantine monitoring at airports and border checkpoints.
According to the British Independent on the 23rd, the Indian authorities are taking measures to respond to the outbreak of the Nipa virus in West Bengal. Local media reported that the infected people were being treated in hospitals in Calcutta and surrounding areas.
One of them was in critical condition, and nearly 100 people had been asked to be quarantined at home.
From 1998 to 1999, the epidemic caused by the Nipa virus spread in Malaysia and Singapore, resulting in more than 100 deaths and the killing of millions of pigs. Since then, the disease has also broken out in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
The World Health Organization lists Nipa virus as a deadly human-animal virus, mainly carried by fruit bats. The virus can be transmitted to humans through contaminated food, or directly transmitted from person to person, with a mortality rate of between 40% and 75%. According to the World Health Organization, the incubation period of the virus from infection to symptoms is generally 4 to 14 days, up to 45 days. At present, there is no vaccine and effective treatment specifically for Nipa virus.