Five die of Nipah virus this year

Five out of eight patients infected with Nipah virus have died this year, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said yesterday.

"We have so far detected eight patients this year; five have died. Anyone infected can also spread the infection to many others. This is concerning," he said while speaking at a press conference at his Secretariat office.

Urging people not to consume the raw date juice, the minister also said fruits half-eaten by birds should not be taken.

"There are no drugs or vaccines for Nipah virus infection. The primary treatment for humans is supportive care, similar to the treatment for Covid-19," the minister said.

The government has stepped up awareness campaign in this regard, Zahid said.

A special unit, equipped with ICU, has been prepared at the Infectious Disease Hospital in the capital's Mohakhali, he added.

Earlier this month, officials at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) also advised people to not drink raw date juice, the main source of the Nipah virus in the country, following the first death of a woman.

According to the World Health Organization, the Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted to people from animals and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person to person.

It causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. The virus can also cause severe diseases in some animals.

In Bangladesh and India, consumption of fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with the urine or saliva from infected fruit bats were the likeliest sources of the virus.

According to the IEDCR, infected people initially develop symptoms such as fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat. An undetected patient can even fall into a coma within 24 to 48 hours of contracting the virus.

The virus was first identified as the cause of an encephalitis outbreak in 2001 in Meherpur.

In 2006, the Nipah Surveillance and Laboratory was established at the IEDCR.

Since then, 337 cases of the infection were documented. Of those infected, 235 died, indicating a very high mortality rate -- 71 percent, according to the IEDCR.