How did Nipah virus spread in India?
Nipah viral antibodies are present in the fruit bat population of at least 10 other states. But only Kerala sees the Nipah outbreak almost every year.
In the fourth outbreak of Nipah in India since 2018, a total of six cases have been reported this year putting the state almost under a siege with Covid-like containment zones being put in place. Educational institutes have been closed, high-risk patients have been asked not to come out of their houses. Apart from the strict containment measures, the government is also focussing on the treatment as India has reached out to Australia for procuring monoclonal antibody for the treatment.
How Nipah spread in Kerala?
The first Nipah outbreak in India's Kerala was in 2018. Before 2018, India saw two more outbreaks of Nipah but both were in West Bengal. After 2018, all Nipah outbreaks were reported only from Kerala. One case was reported in Ernakulam in 2019. In 2021, there was a death from Nipah in Kozhikode. Nipah is a zootonic virus and can spread between animals and people. A person can get the virus from an infected fruit, animal or another infected person.
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However, it's not yet known how the first person got Nipah. "The first outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala was in May 2018...The most important thing is that we still don't know how the primary case contracted the disease. That is the key aspect we have to address right now," Indian Medical Association Public Health Standing Committee Chairman Dr A Althaf said.
The first infection spread from nature but it's not known whether it was a bat or any other animal or from fruits.
Former Indian health minister KK Shailaja said the present outbreak is not as scary as 2018 when the state did not have any experience in battling the infection.
A survey by the National Institute of Virology revealed that the Nipah virus is in circulation among the bat population across nine states and one Union Territory. Nipah viral antibodies were found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Pondicherry.
But why has Nipah been resurfacing only in Kerala? According to experts, it may have many explanations. The Nipah virus might have become endemic in the Kerala bat population. Another cultural reason attributed to Nipah outbreaks is the custom of drinking fresh toddy or sweet tree sap which may get contaminated by infected bats. Experts have not ruled out the possibility that Nipah may have remained undetected in other states.
